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non-muslim funeral

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non-muslim funeral
Shabnam
05/24/02 at 18:23:36
[slm]
I have an uncle who was a non-muslim who died today.   :(
I need to know if it is permitted for me to attend his funeral??  I have looked on Q&A pages, and opinion seems to be divided, half saying I can attend as long as I don't perform any form of prayer, and half saying it is forbidden for me to attend at all.

Please can some one help, I need to know soon, and am not sure what to do.
:( :( :(
[wlm]
Sister Shabnam :-)
Re: non-muslim funeral
Marcie
05/24/02 at 18:51:15
[color=Teal] [slm] Shabnam,

Sorry to hear about the loss in your family.  My husband and I once discussed this issue with our Imam.  He told us to read what Sheikh Qaradawi says about attending the funerals of non-Muslims.  We had both agreed that we would follow whatever the Imam told us.  Maybe you should find a scholar, who you respect and abide by his ruling.  

[wlm]
Marcie  [/color]
Re: non-muslim funeral
bhaloo
05/25/02 at 00:48:14
[slm]

Here is what Dr. Siddiqqi (former ISNA president said):

Islam is a religion that emphasizes human relations. Our relations with all human beings should be based on common courtesy and goodness. Allah says in the Qur'an, "Allah does not forbid you concerning those who did not fight you against your religion and did not expell you from your homes, that you should show them kindness and deal jusly with them. Indeed, Allah loves those who are just…" (al-Mumtahinah 60: 8 ) Participating in the funerals or expressing condolences at the death of someone is a form of "kindness" (al- Birr) and it should be extended to all people, regardless of their religion, as long as they did not fight against Islam. Thus, it is allowed for Muslims to attend the funerals of non-Muslim relatives, friends or neighbors as a matter of human courtesy and kindness. One can also express condolences and sympathies to their relatives. It is reported that the Prophet -peace be upon him- once told one his companion to go and bury his non-Muslim father when he heard of his death. It is also reported that the Prophet -peace be upon him- saw some people carrying the body of a dead person. He stood showing his respect for that person. When his Companions told the Prophet that the deceased person was not a Muslim, but was a Jewish woman. The Prophet -peace be upon him- said, "Did she not have a human soul?" This means that a human soul should be respected in life as well as in death. We should participate in the funerals of our non-Muslim friends, co-workers and neighbors, but without participating in their funeral prayers. We are neither allowed to participate in non-Muslim prayers nor are we allowed to pray for those who died in the state of unbelief.
05/25/02 at 00:48:55
bhaloo
Re: non-muslim funeral
Chris
05/25/02 at 11:53:53
Doing what is Islamic renders unto Islam.  Doing what is Right renders unto God.

It is right to attend a funual, so you should.  It shows respect to the dead.  

Chris
Re: non-muslim funeral
Abu_Hamza
05/25/02 at 12:34:59
Ah but who decides what is "Right" and what's not?  

Who decides if that person who died deserves respect or not?

Or do all dead souls deserve the same respect from us?

Where are you turning to to find answers to these questions?

If it's anything but God (your intellect, your instincts, what-you-were-always-taught aka norms of the society, etc), then that is your source of Guidance.  An imperfect, biased, human source.

The source of guidance for a Muslim is Divine, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Re: non-muslim funeral
Chris
05/25/02 at 14:36:57
Good point.  Lets consider the matter carefully.  Her uncle died.  Presuamly she loved him, otherwise she would not be wanting to attend.  He desearves some respect and therefore she should go to the funeal.  If I was to go toa a Muslim service, in a reversed situation, I would try to abide by Muslim codes, just as a manner of showing respect.  Would that be wrong?

Anything that I do that is wrong makes me feel sick at heart.  I'm not sure I can explain that better, but it feels horrible inside.  I hope that makes sense.

I assume, given that God knows everything, that he knows what is inside my heart and mind at the time and will judge on that basis.  

Chris
Re: non-muslim funeral
Abu_Hamza
05/25/02 at 15:32:16
[quote]He desearves some respect and therefore she should go to the funeal.  If I was to go toa a Muslim service, in a reversed situation, I would try to abide by Muslim codes, just as a manner of showing respect.  Would that be wrong? [/quote]

Chris, in this particular case, what you feel inside of you to be the right thing happens to match with what Islam teaches us.  See bhaloo's post (Dr. Siddiqui's statement) again for the Islamic opinion on the matter, and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

However, looking into our heart and mind and making a decision which just feels right is not the way Muslims make decisions.  Not all human beings have pure hearts.  Actually, the overwhelming majority of us (I'm talking like 99.99% here!) have hearts that are pretty messed up.  Tainted with all kinds of influences from the outside world as well as unseen entities (Satan's whisperings, etc).  As some people who have deep insight into the matters of the heart have said, our hearts are like mirrors.  And a mirror only relects the world accurately if the mirror itself is not bent, crooked, tainted, or deformed in any way.  If the heart is pure and cleansed, only then does it reflect the truth to you.  Otherwise, it reflects a messed up picture of the truth.  You *think* your heart is showing you the correct picture, but it's not.  It's showing you a deformed picture, because of it's own deformity.

Most of us don't have pure hearts.  We have tainted, rusted, almost dead hearts!  Until the hearts are extremely cleansed, we cannot simply rely on what they tell us to do, and take that as something that will inevitably please the Divine Will.  And thus, we turn to revelation.  We turn to what those have said who did have pure hearts.  We turn to guidance outside of us, because we realize our own state.  And at the same time, of course, of course, we work on improving our own state.  How we do that is beyond the scope of this discussion.  But I hope the piont is clear.

There are *many* examples of things about whose morality people of all sorts differ greatly.  Pro-choice vs. Anti-abortion.  Affirmative action vs. non-affirmative action.  Gay Rights.  The list goes on and on!  The fact of the matter is, people differ about things.  If we just use our intellect, then something may be morally right for me, and yet morally wrong for you.  This is why we need guidance from Him who created us and knows what's best for us better than we know it ourselves.  This is why we turn to Him.  And this is why the Muslims turn to the Qur'an, the examples of the Prophets (authentically reported), and the conclusions of the early scholars who were known to have pure hearts, great intellects, and sound knowledge.

And Allah (swt) knows best.
05/25/02 at 15:35:59
Abu_Hamza


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