No matter how far back we look in history, we will find evidence of funeral rituals. Within us, we have an innate need to honour, respect, and remember those who have died of whom we have loved. Funerals, as a ritual, don’t exist simply to exist. They have purpose and intentionality and meaning.
The funeral ritual is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved. Rich in history and rife with symbolism, the funeral ceremony helps us acknowledge the reality of the death, gives testimony to the life of the deceased, encourages the expression of grief in a way consistent with the culture’s values, provides support to mourners, allows for the embracing of faith and beliefs about life and death, and offers continuity and hope for the living.”
Without decent funerals we may act as the Zoroastrian community in India, also known as Parsis, they have a tradition of exposing dead bodies to vultures and other scavenger birds in a circular structure called a Tower of Silence, or locally known as “dakhma.”
On the contrary, there is evidence in the Qur’an that the deceased is to have a decent funeral. Muslims dead bodies should not be thrown to the scavengers or the dead body be burnt as the earliest example shown in the Qur’an when one of the sons of Adam murdered his brother and he felt disturbed how to remove the body.
S5:31 Then Allah sent a raven, who scratched the ground, to show him how to hide the shame of his brother. “Woe is me!”he said; “Was I not even able to be like this raven, and to hide the shame of my brother?” Then he became full of regrets.
The above verse gives indication that the dead body is to be buried and as human evolves and progresses the funeral rituals vary by culture and religion, focus on honouring the deceased, comforting the bereaved and facilitating the final disposition of the body through burial or cremation.
In the Qur’an it is mentioned to pray, to stand, and a grave indicates there are funeral rituals for the deceased.
S9:84 Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies, nor stand at his grave; for they rejected Allah and His Messenger, and died in a state of perverse rebellion.
Although the verse above is antagonistic to the deceased it is revealing the character of a hypocrite or a clear deceiver that is not worthy to have a decent funeral. Nevertheless, for people of integrity, sincere and honest among believers in a community when they died, they deserved a decent funeral ritual.
Pray in the above ceremony is to make eulogy while standing respect before burial to give words of tribute for the dead person. The eulogies serve as community meetings where grief is shared, celebrated, and transformed into lasting memories. They counteract the sterile nature of a formal memorial by infusing personal anecdotes and wisdom into a narrative that honours the deceased.
Here in the Qur’an an example is extracted complimenting of making eulogy on the deceased during their funerals.
40:7-9 …… “Our Lord! Thy Reach is over all things, in Mercy and Knowledge. Forgive, then, those who turn in Repentance, and follow Thy Path; and preserve them from the Penalty of the Blazing Fire! “And grant, our Lord! that they enter the Gardens of Eternity, which Thou hast promised to them, and to the righteous among their fathers, their wives, and their posterity! For Thou art the Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom. “And preserve them from all ills; and any whom Thou dost preserve from ills that Day, on them wilt Thou have bestowed Mercy indeed: and that will be truly for them the highest Achievement”.
After the funeral and burial, several steps can be taken to secure the grave, one can put up the name of the deceased and maintain the cemetery grounds for future visits.
Pondering with Saifuddin's index 