HOUSTON – Just days after a Muslim Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Deputy was gunned down in broad daylight in southwest Houston, many might be wondering why Corporal Maher Husseini was being laid to rest so suddenly.
As a Muslim, this is common—where the body has to be buried within 24-72 hours to perform Janazah (funeral) prayers at the mosque. This may come across as too soon for people unfamiliar with Islamic traditions, and I’m not qualified to speak on it, which is why I turned to religious leaders like Imam Tyeree El-Amin Boyd to help break it down.
How death is viewed in Islam
For starters, while death is tragic and understandably an emotionally tolling time, it is viewed in Islam as something to be celebrated. Not in a morbid fashion, by any means, but in the sense that it’s seen as returning to where we come from.
There’s a saying in Islam when we hear someone has passed away: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un,” which roughly translates from Arabic into “We belong to God, and to Him we return.”
Before we can return to where we belong though, there are crucial and obligatory steps that need to be taken. For starters, there’s the ghusl, ritual purification, and cleansing of the body in Islam.
Cleansing the body and why it’s necessary
“We wash the body before we actually shroud the body with a white fabric garment that is unstitched,” Imam Tyeree explained. “After the shrouding, the body is placed into a box, or casket and taken to the cemetery. So even in those steps, though, it requires such, I would say, spiritual ritualism that is performed in how we do this process, everything has to be meticulous, and it is done, with the utmost respect for that body.”
As for who washes the body is based on contingency, if it’s a natural-caused death, then able family members would have to perform the ghusl. In the case of Corporal Maher Husseini, Imam Tyeree says the ritual would be turned over to a professional at a mortuary before the ghusl process can be done.
“They will begin to prepare his body, meaning wash him, make sure he’s clean and ready,” Imam Tyeree explained.
Why there are no invitation limits when attending a Janazah
In short, the reason behind this is because it’s a matter of sending the person’s soul to the afterlife and the more people who are praying for the deceased is more important than proximity.
“I know in, in American culture, we typically, prolong the funeral, event because we want family and friends to be able to, you know, make arrangements to get there,” Imam Tyeree noted. “However, the responsibility is on those who are local... it’s not contingent upon us waiting for family to get there. It’s not contingent upon that.”
“The prayers are the only thing that we can do to assist this person in their journey and where they’re going,” he continued. “That’s the only thing that will follow them from this life. So when we pray for them, that’s why so many people are encouraged to come.”
Because Islam is a community-based religion, every Muslim is expected to be familial through faith. For that reason, it’s not contingent on waiting for family if they cannot attend. That’s why the Janazah is held at a mosque in front of a congregation of “strangers” for some but as one community in Islam.
“We will say some people will be limited by the situation because not everyone is able to jump on a plane the moment a family member or a close friend, passes away to get on a plane the next day, you know, it’s expensive,” Imam Tyeree added. “However, there’s more emphasis and more encouragement put upon the participatory audience of a funeral of a Janazah, or even someone who was connected to the deceased to make prayers.”
What happens if you cannot attend the Janazah?
It’s perfectly permissible for people to offer a funeral prayer from wherever they can as long as they’re facing in the direction of Mecca.
“If you can’t come, we have a thing called Janazah in absentia,” Imam Tyeree explained. “To pray that Janazah while the body is absent.”
How is the Janazah performed?
The actual prayer, called the Salat al-Janazah (funeral prayer) is very short and can be thought of as a few instances of moments of silence if you will, with the casket
“The head will be facing the East, the Imam will stand at the center of the body, and the congregation will line up in lines behind him, particularly in an odd number of lines,” Imam Tyeree explained. “The Imam is the only one out front. He will make the Salat al-Janazah, which is a prayer that doesn’t involve any bowing, any bending, and is recited silently. After this prayer is performed, which takes every bit of maybe two to three minutes, then we are off to the cemetery.”
Before the cemetery, members of the congregation will move the casket (almost like crowd surfing) until it reaches the car that will be transported.
“In most cases in our tradition and how it has been, demonstrated by the prophet and his companions death is seen as a celebratory thing,” Imam Tyeree explained. “Because it’s a thing that’s inevitable, but when we prepare a person, for the grave, we are a champion and cheering this person on.”
Oftentimes, you’ll find people will rush in to grab the casket or even touch it to feel the spiritual essence, the Imam added.
“I think non-Muslims to observe so that they can recognize the authentic and the spiritual essence and the glory of a person who has passed on from this life because it’s inevitable,” he said. “We’re all going to leave this life and be moving on to another, so it’s one of those glorious occasions that we don’t see it so much as an occasion of being sad and just weeping, however, those are natural, That is natural. We celebrate it in a glorious way, and we’re happy for this person.”
Conclusion
At the end of it all, life and death aren’t incompatible concepts in Islam. People can be happy at life just as they would when someone passes, although it doesn’t mean we won’t mourn and feel emotions for them.
We just pray that wherever they are, like Corporal Husseini, they are at peace and will be remembered for the life they left behind and the positive impressions they made on people. And as mentioned earlier, those prayers are seriously encouraged.
“The prayers that is made for that person, or the good deeds that that person has left behind, is the only thing that will be able to tip the scales in their favor, so to speak,” Imam Tyeree said. “So this is why the recitation of many, many prayers, and beseeching God to have mercy on the person you know, asking God to have favor on the person. Forgive this person for their trespasses, their shortcomings, things that they may have done, and magnify the good deeds, things that they have done or left behind.”