Friends, family remember Naperville North sophomore

Bilal Mallick had a smile and personality that could light up a room. In Islam, the emanating light is called “nur” and is a very tangible thing.

Bilal’s nur, friends and family say, is how they will choose to remember him.

“Bilal was a person who was just good to the core. The very essence of who he was is just a good person,” said lifelong friend Ibrahim Bengali. “Bilal’s legacy ... is his smile and the legacy of the smile will live forever in the hearts of everyone who knew him.”

Bilal, 15, of Lisle, a sophomore at Naperville North High School, died Sunday at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn as a result of complications from leukemia. He found out he had the disease just four weeks earlier.

The strength Bilal showed during that time, even from his hospital bed where he continued to video chat and text with friends, convinced them he would be OK.

Hamza Ahsan, a friend of seven years and a junior at Naperville North, said Bilal’s courage was inspiring.

“Even when he was in the hospital and I was Skyping him, Bilal was looking forward to knowing how his friends were doing before how he himself was feeling,” Ahsan said.

Bilal loved sports, especially football, was a member of the Junior Statesmen of America and was an active member of the Muslim Students Association and the Muslim community in general. Friends say his strong connection to his faith gave him strength.

“Most importantly, Bilal was a great example to what a Muslim should be like. He loved the fact that he was Muslim and took pride in being Muslim,” Ahsan said. “He would try his best to show the good side of Islam that most kids these days don’t see.”

Principal Kevin Pobst said Bilal showed the “good side” of everything he was involved in. This week, he said, has been especially tough.

“It’s not supposed to happen this way. Teenagers are not supposed to pass away and it’s a tragedy when they do,” Pobst said. “Bilal was a popular young man who built a lot of bridges across many groups of students.”

The belief that a successful bone marrow transplant may have helped save the teen’s life sparked several bone marrow drives sponsored by mosques across the suburbs.

“There’s an underrepresentation of South Asians in the bone marrow registry, which we’re hoping to help rectify,” family member Nadia Malik said.

A remembrance ceremony, organized by Bilal’s family, is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 27 at Naperville North High School.