Being a Muslim, care of the dead and funerals were never discussed a lot growing up because of the fact that it is almost considered taboo. Doing research on the topic I realized that there isn't really that much that is special about a Muslim funeral. The rituals preformed are very similar to that of the dominant social practices. The loved ones bury the body in a cemetery with others (friends and distant family) attending a ceremony. It is traditionally considered haram (not permissible) to leave the deceased with a Qur’an or any sort of other materials as it is considered a waste of money because of the fact that it benefits nobody and throwing dirt on objects like the Qur’an (as you would do when burying a body) is a definite no, it is considered a large insult to Allah. Death, according to the Qur'an, is not the end of man's life; it only opens the door to another, a higher form of life: " We have ordained death among you and We are not to be overcome, that We may change your state and make you grow into what you know not." Qur'an 56: 60 - 61.
There are a few little things in the Qur’an however that got me thinking a bit. Doing research on ISNA.net (Islamic Society in Northern America) I discovered a section where funeral and care of the dead are discussed. A question is posed about whether or not it is permissible to place flowers on the grave to which the response was "The practice should be shunned. One should do pious deeds that will be of benefit to the deceased, for example reciting the Qur'an, giving charity, etc. on behalf of the deceased. Placing flowers on the grave does not benefit the deceased in any way. It is waste of money. Rather, that money is given to the poor and needy as charity on behalf of the deceased. Insha’Allah, the deceased will benefit from that immensely." which almost directly contradicts a answered posed to the question of whether or not cremation is allowed in Islam, that answer was "The procedure of honorably dispensing the corpse by burying is explained in the Qur'an and Ahaadith. Even in the burial procedure, the corpse must be handled with utmost care. The beloved Prophet (upon him be peace) said, ‘ Breaking the bone of a corpse is like breaking the bone of a living person.' Obviously, in the cremaProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ng procedure, the entire body is damaged. In view of the above, cremating a body is Haraam". Now in the first quote it is stated that the practice of doing things like putting flowers on the grave should be shunned because it doesn't benefit anybody and yet it is not ok to cremate somebody, I find cremation to be a much more useful and beneficial way of caring for the dead than burial. Cremation is much more flexible with what can be done with the dead after the ritual while after burying someone there is not much you can do with them. Crematoriums also are as Dr.Troyer said a way to power other objects such as houses, homeless shelters, or even mosques. It seems to me that being cremated can benefit people much more then it a burial can.
Interviewing an imam, I discovered that although caring for the dead is basically the same as the dominant social practice. The ritual of caring for the dead is much different simply because of the religious aspect. A big aspect of this ritual is this idea of paradise (heaven) vs. hell. According to the imam, the point of life is to do enough good to reach paradise in the after-life. He specifically said that "Those who are blessed with nearness (to Allah) in gardens of bliss. They will be sitting on thrones woven with gold reclining on them facing each other. They will be served in rounds by Immortal boys with bowls and jugs and a goblet of pure wine. Which will neither cause them to suffer headache, nor will they be intoxicated. They will be given fruits of their choice and the meat of birds that they desire. And for them there will be women having lovely big eyes all neat and clean like a hidden pearl as a reward for what they used to do (from good) in their worldly life." he clearly says that you will be rewarded for doing well in your worldly life and that if you don't you will be sent to hell. Learning about the Islamic perspective on care of the dead I realized that it is what people would consider a "normal funeral". Friends and family come to pay their respects and the body is buried into the ground only to be covered up with dirt. I feel Islam puts so much emphasis on its followers being useful and beneficial that it does not realize that some of its practices and rituals are not very beneficial. That being said I want to know why Islam is structured in such a way where it seems like there is only pure good or pure evil, similar to the idea of being cartoony we discussed in class.
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