In the name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

Funeral Crisis in the Christian World!

If you would to search the Internet – or the yellow pages – for funeral homes, you’ll be amazed of their increased numbers, the variety of services they offer, and the "outrageous" prices associated with such services. The funeral services – in the Christian World - consist of the following:

Various caskets to chose from, body removal from place of death, embalming - preserving a dead body through chemicals -, clothing the body, visitation costs depending upon the number of days, transportation to place of final disposition, flower vehicle, and finally, the body cremation upon request. Pricing can range from $4,000 - $10,000 depending upon the funeral home, and of course, the class of society the deceased used to live in.

Here is a sad story from Texas. A Poor family failed to pay for funeral service for one of its members; the following day, the decomposed body of their deceased was thrown on the front porch of their house. When the family discovered a nasty odor stinking up their house, they were surprised when they opened the front door and found the body lying on the floor. The family insisted they’re short on money and they’re trying "desperately" to come up with the rest of the funeral fees. The family is currently suing the funeral home!

In Islam, funeral services are offered for free. There are no special private sectors that handle funeral services. Everything is done in the mosque. The deceased gets a full-body wash and then gets covered up with pure white shroud. Friends and relatives carry the body to the mosque for funeral prayer, and the body gets carried to the cemetery for burial. In Islam, we are obligated to bury the person soon after he/she passes away. In fact, this is the final honor a person should receive prior to his departure from this world. I don’t think anyone of us, Muslim or non-Muslim, wants to die knowing he’ll be getting ripped off, putting his family in misery, or have his body totally decomposed which would cause friends & relatives to repel as soon as they smell the odor.

Funeral businesses are becoming lucrative money-making machines, renowned for their immoral and uncompassionate ethics and disciplines. Please, let people die in peace and have mercy on the living!!

Arabic Paper