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Funeral Information

Death of a Muslim is a community affair. The bathing, shrouding and burial of a deceased person is an obligation which must be discharged by some one in the community and which will absolve others. If this obligation is not discharged by anyone at all, everyone who knows about it will incur the sin of abandoning an obligation.

Muslims can conduct their own proceedings as long as they fulfil the legal requirements on their own. Funeral prayers can be led and said by anyone so chosen by the bereaved family. The imam of the Canberra Mosque may also conduct burial according to the ways of Muslims in Canberra. He may upon notification arrange the paper work to be completed by the next of kin.

Funeral parlours according to the normal procedure can also carry out funerals. At Need, fixed priced funeral service is also available with the funeral directors. The next of kin will then have to arrange the washing, shrouding and funeral prayers arrangements with an imam.

I. Funeral Procedures in ACT and General Information:

  1. Funeral can only proceed if a death certificate by the doctor at the hospital or the coroner has been obtained. It may mean that if death has taken place at home, the body will have to be transported to the hospital for certification and will be kept until the burial arrangements are finalised.

  2. It may then be washed and shrouded at the hospital [which has no appropriate washing facilities] or brought to the mosque for such preparation. A lot depends on the condition of the body and the time that has passed since death.

  3. The next of kin has to fill out a form called 'Exclusive right of Burial' which is an application to the Canberra Public Cemeteries Trust to allot a space and register the burial. Imam of Canberra Mosque may have copies of that form and will help the applicants to fill it out.

  4. On receipt of this form, the Trust will arrange a time when the burial can take place and on that arranged time the funeral may proceed to the Gungahlin Cemetery for burial.

  5. Canberra Public Cemeteries Trust (phone: 6241 6086 and P. O. Box 126, Lyneham ACT 2602) manages the two Canberra Cemeteries; the Gungahlin Cemetery at Lomond Place, Mitchell ACT 2911 and the Woden Cemetery at Yamba Drive Woden. The Gungahlin cemetery is divided into section and section 11 is reserved for Islamic burials. Road signs are posted for easy location. The reopened Woden cemetery has about 165 spaces in their Muslim section and charges more for burials at this cemetery.

  6. After burial, the Canberra Cemeteries Trust completes the details and issues a Burial Certificate which goes directly to the Registrar of Birth, Marriages and Death at Allara House, Civic for registration. A certificate of death will be issued to the next of kin on application and payment of appropriate fee.

  7. There are about 30 Muslim graves at present, though this enclosure can take at least 300 more.

  8. Plots can be reserved adjacent to the dead person whose burial is to take place or may be reserved in advance. The reservation is for a period of 25 years and reservation charge is payable in advance. The charges made by the Canberra Cemeteries Trust for burial at Mitchell cemetery are as follow. An additional $600 are required for burial at Woden Cemetery:

Total: $2000.90 inclusive of GST

For burial on weekend before midday there is an extra charge of $400 plus GST and after midday the charge rises to $585 plus GST.

II. Cost of Burial:

Comparative cost of funeral by funeral parlours and the Canberra Mosque Inc are given below: These costs, compiled in 2000, are subject to change and should be taken as guide only.

1) Funeral Parlour (Tobin Bros)

Total $3425 fixed*

2) Do It Yourself + Tobin Brothers

Total $2450

3) Do It Yourself

Total: $2250 approx
* supplied by the family

III. Funeral service package:

Canberra Islamic Centre has negotiated with Tobin Brothers of Kingston a special package of $500 for all Muslims, provided the funeral is carried out during the working days and during business hours. This package includes the following services:

  1. Transport from home to the Kingston parlour (provided a death certificate is available from the family doctor) or from the hospital to the parlour during office hours and weekdays. (In absence of death certificate, transport from home to the hospital will require an ambulance). In any case the families should have an ambulance cover which cost $54 a year.
    Ambulance service is not free in ACT and is expensive; a 10 kilometre trip is around $ 254.

  2. The above transport outside the hours specified will have an extra charge of $300 + GST to cover the award wages of the attendants.

  3. Use of facilities to prepare the body for funeral including preliminary care, bathing and shrouding. Although Muslims may opt to do these services for their own kith and kin, in absence of enough helpers or if required, their staff would be available to do these tasks. These services are gender specific. Men to do male funerals and women to do the female. This will also apply for those assisting from the parlour.

  4. Storage of the body in their morgue until the cemetery is ready to receive it.

  5. Transport of the body to the cemetery, and if desired by the family with a diversion to the mosque for funeral prayers.

  6. A reusable coffin, usually kept at the mosque is to be used to transport the body to the cemetery. The family concerned will be responsible for bringing it to the parlour and returning it at the end.

  7. The cost of the shroud, cemetery plot and internment is to be borne by the family concerned (about $2090 in 2000).
    If you need any further information contact the Secretary on 0418 429 202

  8. Preparation of the Grave: Br Muhammad Jabi, the muezzen of Canberra Mosque, builds the chamber in the grave using cement blocks and concrete slabs. This chamber provides the sanctuary in which the body is laid and then enclosed. The estimated cost of this chambers is about $200 for material and there is no charge for labour. Br Mahmoud Jabi can be contacted at 6241 2808.

IV. Helpful Muslims:

As part of its programme to have a self-reliant community, CIC has in the past conducted workshops in funeral arrangements for men and women. These Muslims can be approached for help if and when required in preparing a body for funeral.

For Muslim Brothers
Br. Abdul Sultan Bhimani:6291 6115
Br. Ahmad Youssef: 6242 3524
Br Mahmoud Jabi:6241 2808
Br. Naseer ul Haque:6238 8332
Br. Khondkar Kadrul Haque:6292 3007

For Muslim Sisters
Sr. Zureida Shelmerdine:6291 0080
Sr. Bilquis Bhimani:6291 6115
Sr. Jamila Wazir:6242 8670
Sr. Kauser Haque:6292 8332
Sr. Amira Hadid: 6254 7399

There are other Muslim men and women who could and would like to help. We would appreciate if they contact the Secretary on 0418 429 202 to have their names included in this list.

V. Funeral Prayers:

According to the practice of the Holy Prophet, the desired method of offering the funeral prayer is given below. It is essentially in 4 parts each part separated by a takbir. The body of the deceased is placed in front of the congregation with the imam standing in line with the chest of the deceased. Imam declares the beginning of the prayer and directs the prayers through calling out the takbirs. Everyone in the congregation make the following intention:

  1. Intention:
    "I intend to offer this prayer in devotion to Allah and in prayer for the deceased." After having made this intention, raise both hands up to the ears, say loudly Allhu Akbar and then dropping the hands fold them as in prayer.

  2. Thanna:
    Thanna [Subahana kulahuma wa bayhamdeka ..] is recited and at the end of this the second of the takbir is said in a manner similar to the first one.

  3. Prayer for the deceased
    "O Allah, pardon our livings and our dead and our present and our absent and our young and our old and our men and our women. O Allah, whoever from among us lives, make him live adhering to Islam and whoever from among us dies, let him die adhering to Islam."

  4. After reciting this prayer, the fourth takbir is said without raising the hands to the ears; the hands are released from the fold and salaam is said as in prayer to the right and the left. In case the deceased is a minor [boy or girl] there is an additional sentence in the one given above.

VI. On Death:

Al Imran 3:145 " And no human being can die save by God's leave, at a term pre--ordained."
An Nisa 4: 78 "Wherever you may be, death will overtake you - even though you may be in towers raised high."

Al An'am 6:93 -94 " If thou couldst but see {how it will be} when these evildoers find themselves in the agonies of death, and the angels stretch forth their hands {and call}: "Give up your souls! Today you shall be requited with the suffering of humiliation for having attributed to God something that is not true, and for having persistently scorned His messages in your arrogance."

As Sajdah 32:11 " Say {one day,} the angel of death who has been given charge of you will gather you, and then unto your Sustainer you will be brought back."

Other mentions of death are in: Al Waqi'ah 56: 60-61, Al Jumu'ah 62:8 and Al Munafiqoon 63: 11; al Qaf 50: 19, 20; al Zumar 39:42.

VII. Will:

A will document is in preparatory stages and Br Dean Sahu Khan [02 6247 7774] has agreed to assist the members of CIC in documenting a legal will which will conform with to the Islamic laws and the laws of ACT. There will be nominal cost involved with this work. It is a good practice to write a will and leave it with someone who can keep it safely. Canberra Islamic Centre* can also acts as the administrator of your will.

VIII. Sadeqa Jariya:

You may bequest some of your estate, legally allowed, as a gift to the Canberra Islamic Centre. This will assist us in carrying on our duties and will be a sadeqa jariya for you after your death. Zakat may also be donated to carry on the responsibilities of dawah, propagation of Islamic material and helping Muslims in need in Australia.

IX. Further information:

This information, printed here in good faith, has been supplied to us by the parties concerned. They should be taken as guide only. CIC* does not accept any liability in this respect. A telephone call to the authorities is sure way of finding out the most recent information. If you encounter difficulties during these processes, please inform us so that we may try to remove them.

Canberra Public Cemetery, Gungahlin: 02 6207 1622
Registrar, Birth, Death & Marriages: 02 6207 0488
Tobin Brothers, Christine Walters:02 6295 2799 Ms Christie Walters]

X. Material Required:

Essential material:
Shroud can be bought at any curtain shop. Calico is unbleached and natural and comes in two widths, 1.2 m wide and 2.3m wide. Buy 10m of it in larger width. Cotton wool about 50 g & light Latex gloves 4-6 pairs; soap.

Optional materials: Hot and cold water supply or containers to hold water [if bathing at home], a pot with nozzle for pouring water or hand held shower (Big W, K-Mart); perfume and/or incense [optional]

XI. Coroners' role in the ACT (added 16/12/07)
As many people know, police often have a role to play after a person has died. ACT Policing has a coroner's officer, currently Detective Sergeant Rick McQualter, whose role is to protect and maintain the rights of the deceased while that person is in the custody of police. Police understand that many faiths have particular beliefs or requirements concerning handling the deceased. For instance, we understand that for Muslim people, it is highly desirable for the body to be returned to the family on the day of death or as soon as possible, so they may be buried. The motto of the Canberra Forensic Medical Centre (commonly known as the morgue) is 'Mortui Vivos Docent', which means 'the dead teach the living'. The motto represents the intention of our coronial system that we learn from the deaths of our loved ones. From these lessons we can make positive changes to our community and reduce the chance of others suffering losses that could be prevented. There have been a few questions lately about the role of police in regard to death and this article aims to answer some of those questions, so that the process can be made as easy as possible for the family. The most common question is, what part do police play after a person has died and why must they be involved? In certain circumstances a person's death will be referred to the ACT Coroner for investigation. The Coroner in turn delegates the responsibility of investigating the circumstances of the death to the police. The ultimate goal of the coronial system is to legally determine the cause of each individual death. The process also seeks to identify links between deaths (and also fires and disasters) and a particular set of circumstances so that we, as a community, can reduce the chance of the tragedy recurring. For example, a coronial investigation (or series of investigations) might identify that a certain stretch of road has been linked to a number of fatalities. This information will allow the Coroner to make a recommendation to government concerning changes that are required to be made to reduce the chance of further incidents.

Why must autopsies be carried out?
Autopsies are required so that a doctor can definitively establish the medical cause of death. There have been instances where an autopsy revealed a genetic medical condition in the deceased, which could then be managed in other relatives.

What if I do not wish for the autopsy to be carried out?
A person can make a formal written objection to the Coroner in relation to the conduct of an autopsy. The objection must state the person's relationship to the deceased and outline the cultural or religious objection that is being made. The Coroner will then take this objection into account along with advice from other parties, such as the pathologist, who will examine the deceased before deciding upon the appropriate course of action in the individual circumstances. The Coroner may decide that it is essential to have a full post-mortem examination in order to establish the cause of death, or may determine that a partial post-mortem must be conducted. A partial post-mortem is an examination of a specific area of the deceased. Alternatively, the coroner may determine that the cause of death can be established with just an external examination and a review of medical documentation. The individual circumstances of each case will be considered against the responsibility of the Coroner to make a finding with legal certainty concerning the cause of death.

Will a female pathologist carry out the autopsy if the deceased is female?
There are both male and female pathologists employed by the Coroner's Court. A request for a female pathologist can be made to the Coroner. When will the body be returned - can we request it happens on the same day? Autopsies are planned to a set schedule. Generally the body will be released the day following the post-mortem examination in order that sufficient time has been allowed to properly brief the Coroner on the pathologist's findings.

Can family members be present for the autopsy?
Family members cannot be present for the autopsy as the procedure involves the collection of medical evidence. However, application can be made to the Coroner to have the family represented by a suitably qualified medical practitioner if this is desired.

If family members can't be present, is anyone there to protect the deceased's dignity?
All of the people involved in the autopsy process are professionals who understand their responsibility to respect and preserve the dignity of the deceased. Police will do everything we can to help make this process easier for the family. The most important thing is that the family communicates their needs to police so we can best help you.