They came into the world beating incredible 729,000-1 odds.
Quadruplets Haider, Zayan, Maheen and Zareen Sadiq were conceived naturally after their mum Shabnum was told by doctors she was unlikely to have a child again. Yet on June 26, 2006, Shabnum and husband Khizran welcomed their “four little miracles” and the tiny tots soon found themselves on the front page of the Mirror, their proud mum beaming.
Now the quads are all grown up and celebrating another milestone – their 18th birthday. They were so excited that at one minute past midnight on Wednesday they were already opening presents and tucking into cake. But tragically one person was missing – the mum who had been so desperate to have them. For in April 2020, Heathrow worker Shabnum died from Covid aged just 39 – one of the first victims of the virus. The quads were just 13.
Shabnum Sadiq is pictured with her tiny babies at just five weeks old (Daily Mirror)
The story was covered by Daily Mirror in 2006 - and made our front pageAs they turn 18, the siblings want to share their memories of her for the first time as they focus on making her proud. Zareen says: “It’s hard to think that we’re turning 18 without her here, but I am so grateful to her. She made us who we are and I will always hold her in my heart.”
Shabnum and Khizran, 44, a self-employed businessman, were already parents to six-year-old Shireen when doctors told them in 2005 an ovary condition had left Shabnum with little chance of conceiving again.
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Yet the next year non-identical boys Haider and Zayan and identical girls Maheen and Zareen were born within five minutes of each other at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
Haider says: “Mum was a natural with us. She made looking after quads seem easy. It wasn’t, obviously, but she always made it feel like that. She was the strongest person I knew. If she was ever stressed she never, ever showed it. When we were little, she looked after us while Dad went to work. Then, once we were at school, she returned to work herself. She fitted it in with the school run.”
Now the siblings have turned 18 - but miss their mum who died when they were just 13 (Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency)The proud mum could not wait to see her children grow up and experience every moment with them. Sadly, she never got that wish. In March 2020, Shabnum came home from work as a customer services manager for British Airways with a slight cough.
Otherwise she felt well, so she left the kids with their aunt Annum in Slough, Berkshire, to fly to Pakistan with Khizran for a family wedding. But soon she was so ill she was put on a ventilator. She died 24 days later, one of the first cases in Pakistan. Khizran was stuck in isolation in hospital. Back in the UK, Annum had to give the quads the devastating news.
Haider says: “She told us that Mum had tried to hold on for so long but could not any more. She had gone. We all huddled together sobbing. We were in complete shock. It felt surreal. We’d assumed she’d be fine.”
Khizran had to bury his wife without their children. The siblings held a candlelit service at home. Haider adds: “It was comforting and helped us to feel close to Mum.”
The past four years have understandably been difficult, but the quads and their dad have pulled through. Haider says: “It’s not been easy as we were such a close family and Mum was a rock. She steered us along, took care of everything. But we’ve all knuckled down to our schoolwork.
“We owe a lot to our dad. He loved Mum and they’d been married a long time. Yet despite his grief, he stepped up straight away, took on all the things Mum had done. He’s even learned to cook! He’s been amazing. Without him, we’d probably be all over the place. I myself have done what I can to help us all cope.
“Although we were born within five minutes of each other, I came out first and I’ve always seen myself as the eldest and I have been extra protective of my siblings.”
The quads are pictured as little schoolkids in around 2011Auntie Annum, who Haider calls a “second mum”, organised a holiday in Wales to celebrate the quads’ 18th. “It was lovely, really memorable,” Haider says of their milestone day.
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“It feels so strange that Mum isn’t here to witness all the big moments in our lives like our 18th, like our GCSEs, our A-levels, applying to uni, learning to drive. She had so many beautiful qualities. I loved her ambition and sincerity, her love and kindness towards everyone. She had such strong morals and values that she brought us up with. I miss her so much. But we are all determined to carry on her name and make her proud.”
The brothers and sisters have remained extremely close throughout their childhoodOn that all the siblings agree. And on what it’s like being a quadruplet, Zayan says: “We’ve got used to people stopping us in the street and saying ‘Oh you’re quads? Well, that’s different!’ But for us, it’s just normal. We’ve always been close. We all love each other so much.
“And I think a lot of that comes from our mum, how she taught us to be. It’s family or nothing. We do all have very different personalities, though. The other three are jokers, whereas I’m more serious and I’m training to be a professional boxer.
“The other three are applying to university and going down that route. But whatever happens, it’ll never stop me being close to my siblings. We’ve always been a unit and we’ll always mean everything to each other.”
Shabnum, who worked at London Heathrow Airport, died from Covid aged just 39 in April 2020Sister Maheen says: “Being identical, my sister Zareen and I are very, very close. We’ve always shared a bedroom, while the boys have had their own. We like almost all the same things. The same music, sports, watching the same movies.” Zareen adds: “But my brothers are just as important. I can’t imagine not having them.”
In their early years, the sisters were so similar it caused much confusion. Maheen says: “We’ve often been mixed up with each other. Even Mum struggled when we were little and would always put us in different coloured hairbands. And our teachers would constantly get us confused.
“[All four of us] have always done so much together and been a tight group. Mum taught us to respect and love each other and her influence will always stay with us.”
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