Hello all,
I had recently lost my brother-in-law (his name is Abdul Khalil) whom I loved and respected very much. He was the only person I had known all these years (throughout my twenty five years of marriage to my husband) that had never even once hurt my feelings. He always had that welcoming smile whenever we visited him at his home. I can sit and talk to him without the feeling of awkwardness that sometimes happened between the in-laws.
He died after a brief lung complications and stayed comatose for a few days. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones. Our prayers goes with you, abang.
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There was one time, I think a couple of months ago,I thought of writing about death ritual in Islam but I never got around to do it. I think now is the right time for me to proceed with the topic since we are still in our mourning period.
I'll talk about death in our family. Much easier for me to relate. My mom passed away about two years ago. I got a call from my sister in Penang about eleven something in the morning while I was doing a wrapping work for my guests staying at Holiday Villa.
For those of us who lived on this island, the biggest disadvantage was going out to the mainland especially if it was after 7pm. There will be no boats leaving this island after that time. Thank God it was daytime when mom passed off. I called my husband and children who were scattered everywhere at that particular time. Two was at work, one was on the road and others were at school.
In Islam, once a person died, the body had to be buried soonest possible. Meaning in my mom's case, she died around noon, thus the burial should take place after 'Asar prayer (about five p.m) No embalming process and we were strongly advised to bury within the same day, if possible. Since I definitely can't make it on time, they had pushed the time to a bit later.
The first thing we (the family) did was to recite some passages from the Holy Quran for the deceased. Soon when neighbours and relatives started filling the house and compound, they will do the same too. This act was kind of a parting gift for the deceased to prepare them in a different world. Even if we don't know the deceased, we were encouraged to visit he/she as a reminder to us that we will all die one day.
After that, the nearest local mosque will be informed. The imam of the mosque will then informed the congregation of the area about it and also they had to find a plot that's vacant and available for burial later.
It's time to bathe the deceased. This process were usually done by a person we called Tukang Mandi Jenazah. Since I don't know the word in English, I would call him or her the director. Prior to the director's arrival, we were told to prepare some white material sheet (not sewn), some scented water or rose water, cotton and other items that I can't come up with the names. Now that the director has arrived, the body was moved to a secluded room to start the bathing. The director will wash and clean the body of the deceased carefully and gently as if she or he is still alive. Everything must be taken off or out from the body. If the person has some painted nails, it has to be removed. If there were tattoo on the body, it has to be erased off. The director would even pressed gently the stomach to clear off what's inside the body until it is clean inside.
Only then, after she (the director) was satisfied with her job, would she start with another step. The white material sheet (required about 45 meters) will be laid on the flat of the floor. The director will then cut the material according to the deceased body's length and width. She will slowly wrap the body and used some cotton balls to cover the base of the nostril and ears. She will leave the face unattended yet. This is the time for family members to come and bade a final goodbyes to the deceased. Each and everyone will come and kissed the deceased on the forehead very quietly. Everybody will have to try and suppress their tears for a while because tears weren't supposed to fall on the deceased face. After the final goodbyes, the director will cover up the face totally. She will tie up the head, the mid torso and the ankle. It's time to leave home.
The director's job is done.
In Islam, we don't need expensive or tastefully carved casket. It's because, when it's time to bury, only the body will be lowered into the hole, without the casket. Normally, the coffin were made of ordinary wood. Just like the picture below.
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| maaf, gambar ni saya tak tahu nak credit kepada siapa sebab ada dua tiga blog punyai image sama. |
It's imam's turn now. He and his congregate will be waiting for the body to arrive. Upon arrival, the body will be carried inside the mosque and laid down in front of everybody. The Imam and his congregate will perform the prayer to indicate that this is his/her last stop on earth.
Upon completion (the prayer), the body will be carried to the selected site and slowly with the help of family members and those attended lowered the body inside the hole. After covering the hole with the earth, the imam and others (men) will sit by the grave and read out some prayers for the deceased. This prayer was called "talkin". At this point, there is a slight differences in practicing this citation. Some Muslim countries practice this doing as we do in Malaysia whereas some don't.
That's the final journey of a human. From Him we came and to Him we return. That's the little knowledge I can share with you , my readers.
Have a pleasant evening.
Rose
1st.Oct '13
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