Bohra burial refusal
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Burhan,
I have always
enjoyed your way of writing on the faith of true Islamic ways. Recently an
incidence has happened in my family and I would like to clear my
consciousness in my mind. My experience was as such : My mother passed
away, and this happened about 200 kms. away from the community mosque. I called
the our mosque Amil to inform him about the incidence and wanted help from him
for Burial services. I have always had good standing with the Community , and
our request was that my mothers wishes come true to be buried in the same city
where she spent 33 years and died there. We all wanted the wishes to come true
but the Amil , who said that it was is last decision that he would not do or
send any people to recite the burial traditions. We requested this over and
over that my , mother have a Bhora traditional Burial. How ever he refused and
insisted that body be moved to 250 km. where the Mosque is and said that dead
peoples wishes can not be kept that way. Anyhow this was very upsetting time
for the whole family and we decided to do what her wishes were. We had taken
the body to the nearest Mosque and did every thing according to the Bhora way
but without the help of the Amil. My question to you is that, Have we done
anything unIslamic way to carry this . Have we done anything wrong to do
this way? Should I be afraid to face the same Amil with nonses
attitude and not performing his duties right. Should this kind of Amil be
reported to the house of Allah. Is this kind of person really suitable and be
allowed to carry Islamic ritual things where he is using his bullyways to
control people who at the sad times need help and right of
way .Please try to reply this as soon , I will be watching for your
answers. My question to is : Was Amil of Toronto right to order us
to bring the body 250 km. away from where she lived for past 30 years.? , Is it
not sunna to bury the body of person where they die? , Is it wrong to use other
muslim mosque for body prepration and prayers.? , Can it be right that, an Amil
or any other muslim Imam can refuse to do the burial services ? , In Islamic
way what do you think should be the right way to respect the dead.? Do you
think that the AMIL acted the Islamic way ? Should he be reported to any
Islamic complains office for not doing his job ? Please advice me. I will be
waiting for your answer egerly.
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Bohra burial refusal
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none
can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright.
We bear witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Beloved
brother in Islam, your experience with the
Bohra Aamil over the burial of your deceased mother is not a new phenomena in
the Bohra community! The Aamils are
trained to tighten their grip on the followers at the times of need, especially marriage and burial, where the Bohra community have invented so
many rites and rituals which have absolutely no basis in Islam.
To be given a muslim burial is a
fundamental right of every muslim; and
if no one in the community gives the deceased believer a honorable muslim
burial, the whole community will be in
sin in the sight of Allah. This is
what is called a ‘fard-kifaayah’ in Shariah;
if some people in the community honorably bury the deceased believer, it will suffice; but if no one in the community gives the deceased believer a
honorable muslim burial, the whole
community will be held in sin.
Your Question: My question to you is that, Have we done
anything unIslamic way to carry this . Have we done anything wrong to do
this way?
My
beloved brother in Islam, you have done
nothing wrong by approaching a believing community and seeking their help in
giving your deceased mother a honorable muslim burial.
Your Question:
Should I be afraid to face the same Amil with nonses attitude and not
performing his duties right.
The
only one who deserves to be feared is Allah Subhanah! The truth is that the Aamil should be embarrassed to meet you
and seek forgiveness from Allah Subhanah and your family for having such a
non-caring attitude towards a family who is grieving over the death of their
loved one.
Your Question:
Should this kind of Amil be reported to the house of Allah.
Beloved
brother, Allah Subhanah is well aware
of the attitude and action of the Aamil and he will get his due punishment from
Allah Subhanah in His Court on an Inevitable Day!
Your Question: Is
this kind of person really suitable and be allowed to carry Islamic ritual
things where he is using his bullyways to control people who at the sad times
need help and right of way .
Brother, we must realize that the Aamil is sent there
to make a living off the believers in their time of need, and has absolutely no interest in your
well-being whatsoever. That is
precisely why there is no room for a special ‘priestly class’ in true
Islam! And if this is his attitude at
probably the weakest moment in one’s life,
can you even imagine what kind of good
he will be able to deliver at other times!
The
standard procedure of these unscrupulous Aamils is that when a rich man
dies, they go out of their way to
facilitate the rites and rituals for them;
and when a normal person dies,
they bully him into submission to their whims and fancies.
Allah
Subhanah is well aware of their atrocities and tyranny. If they do get away with their oppression
in the life of this world, rest
assured that they will be brought as criminals in the Just Court of Allah
Subhanah where no man will be wronged in the least!
Your Question: My
question to is : Was Amil of Toronto right to order us to bring the body 250
km. away from where she lived for past 30 years.?
Even
an enemy has the decency to fulfill the last wishes of a dying person! The Aamil was absolutely wrong in his
attitude, and he should have tried his
best to facilitate the last wishes of a deceased person; especially if the wish made by the deceased
was legal in regards to Shariah.
Your Question: Is it
not sunna to bury the body of person where they die?
Ahmad and Tirmidhi
report on the authority of Hadrat Ali
ibn Abu Talib (r.a.) that the Messenger
of Allah (saws) said: "O Ali, never delay three things: prayer when its time approaches, the funeral when death is confirmed, and marrying a widow or a divorcee when a
suitable match is found for her."
It
is indeed a Sunnah to give the deceased believer a honorable funeral as soon as
possible, unless of course there is a
valid reason for the delay. But for
someone to purposely delay and/or trouble the family of the deceased at the burial
of their loved one cannot be considered a worthy and honorable act.
Your Question: Is it wrong to use other muslim mosque for
body prepration and prayers.?
Beloved
brother in Islam, as you must have
noticed and experienced, that when you
took your beloved mother’s body to the ones you call the ‘other’ muslim mosque; they probably treated you more like their
own brothers than the Aamil and his cronies!
The truth of the matter is that
it is we who have divided this Ummah of Islam in our sect, his sect,
their sect, and other sects! Allah and His Messenger (saws) guided the
believers to stay united in the One Ummah and Brotherhood of Islam and cursed
the ones who broke their deen into sects.
Allah says in Chapter
30 Surah Rum aayat 31-32:"This (Islam) is the right and true faith, but
most people do not know. (Be steadfast on this) turning wholly and sincerely
towards Allah Alone, and fear Him, and establish the Salat, and do not be like
the mushriks, who have set up their separate creeds and divided themselves into
sects, each sect rejoicing in what it has."
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-55:And you all belong to one and the
same ummah, and I(Allah) am your Lord;
so fear Me Alone! Yet afterwards the
people divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoicing
in what it has. Well, leave them deeply involved in their
heedlessness up to an appointed time.
What? Do they think that, by continuing to provide them with wealth
and children, We are solicitous for
their welfare? Nay, they do not understand the reality of the
matter!
To be given a honorable muslim
burial is a right of every believer,
and you have done nothing wrong in approaching your ‘other’ brothers in
faith when your ‘own’ Aamil refused to offer his services. Allah Subhanah has termed the believers ‘muslims’; it is the ignorant people who have given
them self-invented names like Sunnis,
and Shias, and Bohras, and Ismailis, etc. The true believers
should be honored to be recognized by the name Allah Subhanah has chosen for
them: that is, ‘muslims’.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 77-78:O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow down) and do ‘sajdah’
(prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it
may be that you attain true success!
Exert your utmost for the cause of Allah, as one should. He has
chosen you for His service, and has not laid on you any hardship in your
religion. Therefore, be steadfast in the religion of your father
Abraham. Allah had named you
‘muslims’ before this, and has named you (muslims) in this Quran also, so that the Messenger may be a witness in
regard to you, and you may be witnesses
in regard to the rest of mankind.
Your Question: Can it be right that, an Amil or any other
muslim Imam can refuse to do the burial services?
Like
I said brother, it is the fundamental
right of every believer that his brothers in faith give him a honorable burial
after his death. If someone blocks
the burial for no legal or valid reason,
he will be brought forward to answer for his misdeeds in the Just Court
of Allah Subhanah for his oppression.
Your Question: Should he be reported to any Islamic
complains office for not doing his job ?
You
may try doing that brother, but chances
are your complaints will fall on deaf ears in the hierarchy of the Bohra
system, where the norm is that the
hierarchy will support the people whom they have appointed as Aamils or
governors over their followers, and
they might try to humiliate you further in their ‘courts’!
My humble advice to you is to
take your complain straight to the Absolute Supreme Court of Allah
Subhanah; where no complaint of the
oppressed ever goes unheard or unanswered,
where no tyrant oppressor is ever protected, where no victim is ever abused,
and where only the Truth and Justice of the All-Just Lord prevails.
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 3.628 Narrated by Ibn Abbas
The Prophet (saws)
sent Hadrat Mu'adh ibn Jabal (r.a.) as a Governor to Yemen and advised him,
"Be afraid, from the curse of the oppressed, as there is no screen between his invocation and Allah."
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 3.629 Narrated by Abu
Huraira
The Messenger of
Allah (saws) said, "Whoever has
oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the
Day of Resurrection when there will be no money (to compensate for wrong
deeds); but if he has good deeds, those
good deeds will be taken from him according to his oppression which he has
done, given to the oppressed; and if
the oppressor has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be
loaded on him."
Thus
my beloved brother, never ever despair
of the Mercy and Justice of Allah Subhanah,
even if the Aamil is able to get away with his oppression and tyranny. Rest assured that he will have his Day in
the Just Court of Allah Subhanah, and
the currency of the Hereafter is the ‘deeds’ of the person!
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,