PHIL1040 World Religions

Introduction

The funeral ceremony in Islam is different from other religions. The circumstance pf deaths matter in the religion. Care is shown towards the death of people who died in an honourable manner such as, becoming a martyr on the battlefield or while praying. Much care is not provided to the people who die in a shameful way such as while fighting or driving after consuming alcohol. The name of the deceased is announced on the social media so that people get to know. Muslims voluntarily participate in a funeral procession because according to Islam, cooperation is a good traditional and religious practice (Alobaidi, 2020).

Discussion

According to Islam, the dead body of a person should be buried as soon as possible after the person’s death. There is no viewing or visitation as a result of this. This pace is maintained so that there is no backlog of corpses in the cemeteries which may cause desecration of the bodies. After the death of the person, the body is immediately washed and covered with a sheet by the members of the person’s family. The hands of the body are positioned in a way so that it seems that the person is in prayer. Then, the body is brought to the mosque where in most of the cases, the body is not an open casket.

The funeral ceremony is organized outside the mosque such as, in a prayer room or courtyard where the relatives and friends of the deceased can gather. The body is turned towards Mecca along with everyone. It is done as Mecca is holy and by facing the holy site of Islam the people are trying to be ‘righteous’. An Imam leads the prayer. Three lines are formed by the men, women and children who come to attend the ceremony. The body is then taken to the cemetery in a silent procession. Generally, it is attended by only men but at times, children and women are also allowed (Bayatrizi and Ghorbani 2019).

It is because Islam believes that the body of all the people will resurrect on the Judgment Day. Cremation is a ‘haram’ according to the faith. The body should be treated with respect both in life and death and cremation of the body would be its mutilation. Muslims should never allow or attend a cremation otherwise they would be considered a part of the ceremony. It will never be a ‘righteous’ act according to the religion as being obedient to the Holy book of Quran helps a person to become ‘righteous’. Therefore, a ‘righteous’ Muslim should never give permission for cremation or attend it (Olando 2019).

Autopsies of the body is strictly prohibited as it delays the ceremony and desecrates the body. Embalming of the corpse is also considered desecration and is only allowed to be done if it is enforced by law. People may mourn and cry for the dead but no one is allowed to wail loudly. Display of extreme emotion such as ripping of clothes and self-injury are not permitted in Islam. People must not take pictures or record the ceremony in any way possible. After the burial, the attendees then can come to the house of the deceased and express their condolences

According to Quran 2:21, a devotee can become ‘righteous’ after worshipping the Lord who created everyone and everything on this planet. The Prophet said in Al-Kulayni that everyone is family to Allah and He loves them the most who are of any benefit to their families. It means that people who help and support their families are righteous in the eyes of Allah and the Prophet. The Hadith says that people shall have love for each other. The Quran says that the ‘righteous’ must prioritize the needy over themselves. A devotee must be the reflection of the Lord who loves the needy (Tajmazinani and Mazinani 2021).

A person is righteous when he or she is obedient to the teachings of Quran. The devotees must believe in the mission of the Prophet. They should not be polytheists as they should only worship the Lord. According to Surah, no one must believe in idolatry as idols are created by humans who have no authority to give forms to the Almighty. People must know that their ‘righteousness’ will be judged by the Lord and that sinning will destroy the ‘righteousness’ incorporated through worships and prayers. Therefore, someone who wants to be righteous must stay away from committing sins and doing harm to others (Farahani and Nabavi 2019).

Islam talks of treating everyone equally. A rich and poor have the same importance in the eyes of the Lord. Therefore, no one should not discriminate against someone who is poor. The faith says that people who are in the position of power must judge everyone equally and must not punish anyone based on their wealth. It shows that Quran stresses on the subject of equality and considers those individuals ‘righteous’ who can treat everyone equally. The funeral ceremony too is significant in such a scenario because there is no difference between the funeral ceremony of a rich and poor man (Kadivar 2018).

Sharia helps the followers to become righteous and good in the world. It also helps them to stay away from corruption. The devotees must respect the mankind and help everyone who is in need. Being righteous is what separates the humans from other living beings of the world. They are the most superior creation of God and therefore are more duty bound to create a just society. A human body is holy because it is the best creation of God and that is why during the funeral ceremony it is ensured that it is not desecrated. Everyone involves themselves to see that all the rules of the ceremony are being followed (Islam 2018).

The Quran addresses the mankind and says that everyone is created from a single pair of male and female and has gone on to become nations and tribes and that these tribes and nations shall know each other. It says that God honours the ‘righteous’ the most. Prophet Muhammad says to the people of Mecca that God is everyone’s Father and he is one. He has the authority on every Arabs, non-Arabs, blacks and non-blacks. The Prophet goes on to say that the ‘righteous’ has the most honour among everyone. This shows how much ‘righteousness’ is valued in Islam and that everyone must strive to become ‘righteous’.

Quran 28:83 says that the end is best for the ‘righteous’ and that the ones who do not want arrogance and mischiefs on Earth will be provided with all the necessities. People who are arrogant are the ones who do not see everyone equally and consider themselves superior than the others. It is against the teachings of Islam. People must maintain their ‘righteousness’ both in life and death and therefore, during the funeral ceremony, the body is positioned in a way so that it faces Mecca which is a holy site in Islam. No one is allowed to disobey the teachings even after their death (Reshi 2019).

Quran 2:177 says that only praying is not ‘righteousness’. A person is ‘righteous’ when he believes in God, the Angels and the Prophets. He or she is ‘righteous’ when he or she can give away his or her wealth to the kinsfolk, the poor and the orphans. Muslims must speak for the slaves and try to set them free. A person must believe in all the rituals followed in Islam including the ones which are difficult to execute. It is difficult to execute the burial of a body soon after the death of a person but a true follower must be obedient to all the easy and hard rules to become ‘righteous’ (Bhatti, Hasan and Abid 2019).

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be seen that the funeral ceremony in Islam is different from the other religions. A delay is avoided between the death of the person and the execution of the last rites. The execution of the rites cannot be kept on hold for someone else as the wait will desecrate the body which is against the law of the faith. People voluntarily participate in the rites because they think that this is how a better society can be established. Righteousness is of utmost importance in Islam as the Lord and the Prophet both honour the individuals who are righteous. According to Islam, just praying to the Lord is not being ‘righteous’. To become ‘righteous’, a person must treat everyone equally. He or she must not differentiate between a rich and a poor. This is the reason that there are no separate funeral ceremonies for the rich and the poor. A person is ‘righteous’ when he or she believes in the Lord, the Prophet and in the Angels. A righteous person should be beneficial for not only the world but also for his or her family. There are several portions in the Quran, Hadith and Sharia that talk about ‘righteousness’. The funeral ceremony in Islam proves that even after death, a person must follow all the rules needed to become ‘righteous’.

Reference:

Alobaidi, A., 2020. The Effect of Circumstances of Death and Funeral Ceremony on Condolence in English and Arab Societies. College Of Basic Education Researches Journal, 16(4), pp.1089-1102.

Bayatrizi, Z. and Ghorbani, H., 2019. The bureaucratic professionalization of funeral rites in Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery. In Death Across Cultures (pp. 103-118). Springer, Cham.

Bhatti, Z.I., Hasan, W. and Abid, F., 2019. Greetings in the Holy Quran; A Socio-Pragmatics Study. Al-Qalam, 24(1), pp.463-472.

Farahani, N.G.K. and Nabavi, S., 2019. Studying the Common Themes of Two Surahs of Shu’ara and Qisas in terms of identical Huruf Muqatta’eh. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 6(1), pp.440-456.

Islam, T., 2018. Ibn Ashur's Views on Maqasid al-Quran: An Analysis. Journal of Ma alim Al-Qur an Wa Al-Sunnah.

Kadivar, M., 2018. Islam and Democracy: Perspectives from Reformist and Traditional Islam. In The Politics of Islamism (pp. 23-45). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Olando, M., 2019. Cremation and Burial. Jumuga Journal of Education, Oral Studies, and Human Sciences (JJEOSHS), 2(1), pp.1-8.

Reshi, F.A., 2019. Perspective of Human Rights in Islam. Perspective, 1(8).

Tajmazinani, A.A. and Mazinani, Z.M., 2021. Foundations of Social Policy and Welfare in Islam. In Social Policy in the Islamic World (pp. 15-35). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

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