Funeral Handling

Just before dying – in hospital/hospice/home

Take rings/watch/necklace off
Recite quran and duas close to head
If you have to leave them alone overnight get an mp3 player with quran and duas next to him. all hospitals allow that
Gather all the belongings inc phone etc in one place or take them home
Start talking to graveyard to understand their requirements
Start talking to community centre for ghusl preparations
Dispose all unnecessary things in the hospital
Find the will of person and see if there are any of their wishes that can be fulfilled
Clean the person as much as possible
If in hospital, you can request nurse to transfer the person into a SIDE ROOM for family to see him easily
Ensure that you have a Power of Attorney for the person. https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/legal-issues/power-of-attorney/

At the time of death

Close the eyes by moving palm from forehead down
Place hands on side
Ensure fingers are straight
Get hospital staff to take any canulas, cathetars, drips, bags etc off
Ask the GP (if died at home) or hospital ward to do the paperwork ASAP, remind them of islamic requirement of quick burial
Ward will send cause of death to Bereavement office
Bereavement office will send all paperwork to Medical Examiner. They will call next of kin to confirm
There is a possibility that a post-mortem is required to ascertain the cause of death. Note that you can opt for an MRI instead but some a post-mortem is still required after the MRI. Check with hospital is this process can be avoided on religious grounds
Medical Examiner will review and send to local council registrar
Registrar will make an appointment with next of kin to register death. This can be a telephone one and next available so can cause delays
There can be a delay between death registration and green form issue (required for burial).
After death registration, certificate can be issued but not needed for burial
Once you are sure when green form will be issued, arrange a burial time with graveyard. try to keep it at the last slot of the day as there are unavoidable delays sometime
Inform all family and friends of burial

Body storage

Deceased body will be taken to a mortuary soon after the relatives have been informed
All hospitals have different mortuary timings which can delay ghusl and ultimately delay burial
Call the hospital to check and then get to the mortuary to collect body in hearse
If personal belongings were not collected from hospital ward, they are sent to the mortuary
Mortuary will get the hearse driver/funeral director to sign the collection form
Arrange a maulana for talqeen, if not available anyone can do it

At the ghusl place

If there are delays in collection from mortuary, body can be stored in freezer at the community centre
If there are genuine reasons, body can stored in freezer for a maximum of 3 days
Follow islamic guidance of ghusl
If the person was COVID positive or died in hospital, extra precautions should be taken
If the graveyard requires coffin to be sealed, ensure kafan band are open and body facing qibla and earth under face
Leave enough time for namaz janaza and try to have a short masaib and noha before leaving for graveyard
Get 40 people to sign shahadat-nama to be kept within the kafan
Have a doctor available in case there are wounds or complex infections
Put quran on the phone while ghusl is being performed
Try putting karbala/najaf kafan and or burde yamani on top

If body needs to be transferred abroad (see these websites for details)

This is a fully managed service from collection to delivery
Ideally try to bury in the UK, will doesn’t apply if its not possible or too complicated, or unaffordable to family
https://mearsrepatriation.com/international-repatriation-services-to-pakistan.html
https://www.slatersinternational.co.uk/outbound-destinations/repatriation-to-pakistan

At the graveyard

Ensure you have a copy and original green form before leaving for the grave
You will be allocated a grave at time of booking
Ideally one family member should go and check everything is good before hearse leaving community centre
Sometime graveyard requires payment to diggers in cash at the time of burial
Take some thing to identify grave after burial, laminated name of marhoom
Try to have a short masaib and noha after burial and surah yasin recited during burial
Usually the date of Soyem is announced after burial
Sadqa and Namaze wahshat request

Costs: