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Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying, “Hurry up with the dead body (for its burial), for if it is pious, you are speeding it to goodness and if it is otherwise, you are laying an evil off your necks.”
Cremation Nation and Muslim Burial
Say you are in a crowd of people: Look to your left. Then look to your right. Chances are high that one or both of those people is going to be cremated. If you are Muslim and you are in a crowd of Muslims, then that statement is not true (I hope).
Cremation has started to dominate how the human remains are dealt with in the past few years. It may be surprising to learn how dominant cremation has become in American society. In 1976, about 7.3% of Americans were cremated (about one hundred years after cremations became a thing in the United States). Now it exceeds 60% and is expected to plateau at 80% of all funerals. Cremation, to the uninitiated, is a process of placing human remains into a chamber that burns the body until it is ash. There is a related procedure called a “water cremation” which does not involve fire but water and various chemicals that also results in a kind of powdery residue. Ashes can be placed in an urn at home, or scattered in various places, like the ocean, or a favorite activity in Southern California and Central Florida, in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom (which have HEPA cleanup teams to deal with this).
What do you care? Well, burial is rapidly becoming extinct. Religious groups that once viewed cremation as disrespect of the dead, which was historically a crime, have now adopted means other than burial. This trend most vividly affects converts to Islam whose families either do not respect or are not especially curious about Muslim tradition. Practicing Muslims with a “secular” family who do not care about Islamic traditions may have a similar problem. There are other ways to dispose of human remains other than Islamic burial.
Donation to Science
Do you want to donate your body for the purpose of having scientists, medical students and potentially others dissect it? Do you want to have your body chemically treated to be placed in museum displays? How about displayed in private collections? The Islamic Medical Association of North America has taken the position this is fine, so long as it is fine with you.
Without question, generations of medical students have been educated by dissecting human cadavers. Millions of people have seen the “Body Worlds” exhibits that have been touring the globe for decades. Though, some of those bodies have allegedly been stolen and trafficked without the decedent’s permission. Even when there was permission, it may not have been for the purpose of putting the body on display.
Now, one thing you have probably figured out is that human remains has value and can be trafficked, mishandled, and abused. I am not sure it makes it better that a doctor, a scientist, a medical student or Harvard is doing this. Famous deceased geniuses have had their brains stolen to be studied, only to have nobody find anything in the brain tissue that tells us what made them special.
Because there is an opinion that donation of the body is okay to do, this is one of those non-burial thing Muslims are more likely to do.
Medical schools often have memorials or a process to honor the “silent teachers” and, if requested, would eventually return the remains to the family, so they could conduct a burial or cremation or whatever else they want to do.
From speaking with various clients who have experience with the way medical schools treat human remains, I have found most Muslims I have spoken to, “in the know” would be uncomfortable having their own body go through that process. Though without question, there will be Muslim physicians who would be completely fine with this. Outside the medical field, I don’t see Muslims being interested.
Casket Burial
There was a time when funeral homes insisted on caskets, built relationships with manufacturers of caskets, and made caskets a necessary part of a “package.” The funeral and burial industry got itself a bit of a reputation for being an exploitative racket. Four decades ago the Federal Trade Commission aimed to address a variety of poor practices of the industry. In recent years, this has included lying to families and other sleazy sales practices, making threats about remains, or all manner of abusive conduct against families going through enormous stress.
The funeral rule does not prevent a cemetery from requiring a casket. The funeral rule itself governs funeral providers, not cemeteries.
“Green Burial” is not Exactly Muslim Burial
Muslims traditionally do not use caskets. The practice of Muslims is like a trending practice known as “green burial.” This is where the body is not treated with chemicals and there is no casket or coffin, or if there is one (for non-Muslims) it is biodegradable. This is maybe a bit different from the practice of “human composting” with is the use of a container that is filled with various microorganisms to turn the human body into soil more rapidly. The soil in that case is used outside a cemetery setting, like to plant things in a back yard.
Islamic Burial is quick, uncomplicated, efficient, and dignified. The problem though is that societal trends (except maybe green burial, which is far less common than cremation) work against it.
How to get people to care about your burial being done right?
One thing I tell Muslims who come from established Muslim families is that you should not worry about it, and you are remarkably fortunate because of your background. This is especially true if you are in a metropolitan area with an established Muslim community where there is a system for burial. One of the more remarkable things about burial is that this is something Muslims do well, far better than other faith traditions in my opinion (why cremation has become so popular in the first place).
Muslim burial providers are silent heroes in the community and are frankly underappreciated for the good they do. Doing the Ghusl, the Janaza and everything else that goes along with it and doing it quickly and with dignity is a vital service for families.
There is a special problem however for Muslims with no or little Muslim family. It is even worse when that family has not accepted that person’s Islam and will not respect the traditions of the faith community the individual belongs to. No matter the age, it is important to make sure there are proper arrangements.
Where instructions go
Muslim funeral providers do not need to be told how to do a Janaza or where the body is supposed to face in the grave. They already know the answers to these kinds of questions. The main instruction is that your body needs to be buried based on Islamic tradition by a funeral provider that has experience and employees or volunteers that will act quickly.
Advance Healthcare Directive or Separate Writing
In California (where I am based) Health and Safety Code Section 7100 and 7100.1 give the power over who can control your remains. The highest priority goes to the person who is your agent under the Power of Attorney for Healthcare. If you want a Muslim burial, do not make the agent someone who has not accepted your Islam, even if that person is your parent, sibling, or spouse. That will likely result in a non-Muslim burial. There is a copy of an advance healthcare directive for California here.
If there is no advance healthcare directive, then under the law it is the spouse, parents then siblings and so forth. Muslim friends would have no legal authority in this area and would not be able to do anything other than try to persuade family members, which is to say if they even heard about the death before the funeral.
An alternative is a separate written instruction on burial under Health and Safety Code Section 7000.1. This will take precedence over family priority in deciding the issue. If you put these instructions in an Islamic Will, they are to be conducted immediately even if the will ended up not being valid for whatever reason.
A writing that is separate from a will is often best. But what is more important, is that it be accessible to the people who need it, when they need it.
I have three recommendations and sample instructions.
- Get to know who does Islamic burials in your area. By that I mean maybe meet them in person, at a Janaza and burial you are attending. If you have not attended a janaza and burial, be sure to do that. It should not matter that you do not know who the person is.
- Consider the cost of the service. Burial services, especially cemetery plots can be a profitable business, and Muslims have entered this space for a profit motive. If they offer value to families for the money this is not a problem. However, this can pose a potential problem for Muslims who are indigent, unless the organization has a policy on taking all comers regardless of ability to pay, which is typical for nonprofit services operating in the Muslim community.
- Some Muslim mortuary organizations offer cards with instructions, including that you want a Muslim burial and their contact information, with a place for you to sign and print your name. Consider using this or making your own. Instructions can be as follows:
Instructions Regarding my Remains
I ___________ am a Muslim and wish to be buried in accordance with Islamic traditions. In the event of my death, I direct my executor to contact ________________ (name of Muslim organization) at ________________ (phone number) immediately to make funeral and burial arrangements. If I die far from my residence, I direct my executor arrange that I be buried in accordance with Islamic tradition closest to where I passed, and this be managed by a qualified Islamic burial service.
Note: If you do not have an estate plan with a named executor, then you can name the person who should be responsible for your burial, a Muslim in the community who is most likely to step up and take responsibility should you pass away. You may consider naming multiple people.
I ___________ am a Muslim and wish to be buried in accordance with Islamic traditions. In the event of my death, I direct ____________ (name of person), and if not available ______________ (name of second person) facilitate my burial to contact ________________ (name of Muslim organization) at ________________ (phone number) immediately to make arrangements. If I die far from my residence, I direct my executor arrange that I be buried in accordance with Islamic tradition closest to where I passed, and this be managed by a qualified Islamic burial service. I direct payment for such services be reimbursed through my ________________ (bank name) account located at _______________ (address of bank).
(Insert Contact information for both individuals who are to be contacted)
Both instructions are designed to be brief so you can place it in a wallet card. Keep in mind I am providing this for educational purposes and not offering legal advice to readers of the article by writing this suggested language.
How to Pay for it
As my second suggested instructions says, you may need to deal with the issue of payment. The law requires instructions be unambiguous and that there should be a way to pay for it. As a practical matter, if you are Muslim, the burial provider will not charge if you did not have means to pay.
The person you appoint may not know if you have resources or not. If you do have resources, it is vital that you have an appropriate Islamic Estate Plan. Consider the Islamic Rules of Inheritance, and burial. If you have resources to contribute to a burial and not more, then you need to have instructions that direct the person helping you where to find the resources to pay for it. Your providing knowledge of where to get reimbursed will be helpful to the person helping you get your burial done correctly.
In an Islamic burial, often there is a premium on speed. Getting the death certificate quickly and arranging the prayer and burial as expeditiously as possible. Muslim organizations will often worry about payment later. However, as Muslim it is vital that you do not pass away in debt. Don’tassets to family who can access bank accounts but not to those who paid for your funeral. This would be an injustice you would want to avoid.
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