WHAT TO DO AFTER A DEATH
A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR MUSLIMS
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Expected death
3. Expected death in hospital
4. Unexpected death
5. Unexpected death - reporting to the coroner
6. Unexpected death - coroner's post-mortem
7. Unexpected death - inquest
8. Stillborn babies
9. Organ donations
10. Summary of paperwork needed for burial
11. How a death is registered
12. What happens at the register office
13. Funeral arrangements
14. The religious importance of burying quickly
15. How to perform the funeral prayers (Janãzah Salãh)
16. Prayer in the cemetery
APPENDICES
A Table explaining Ghusul, Kafn and Janãzah
Salãh requirements for stillborn babies
B Registrar of Deaths contact details
C Funeral directors
1. Introduction
The death of someone in the family or of close
relatives or friends is often a time of great stress and
emotion.
Quite often people are not familiar with what
to do, either from a religious point of view or in terms
of the practical steps that need to be completed to bury
one’s loved ones.
This booklet is intended to address the above
needs.
The practical steps that are covered relate
to the paperwork which needs to be completed to meet legal
requirements, and to organizing the funeral itself.
What is most important to realize is that
if you are unsure about any aspect, or if you need help
and support, members of the extended family, close friends
and your local mosque are always available to help and consult.
It is usual, on hearing of a death of a fellow
Muslim, to recite the following brief prayer:
Innaa liIlayhi Wa Innaa Ilayhi Raaji’oon
(Verily we belong to Allah and will return
to Allah)
2. Expected death
If the death was expected, contact the doctor
who attended the deceased during their final illness.
If the doctor can certify the cause of death
he or she will give you the following:
-
A Formal Notice that states that the
doctor has signed the Medical Certificate and tells you
how to get the death registered and
-
A Medical Certificate that shows the
cause of death (this is free of charge and will be in
a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of Deaths).
If the doctor treating the deceased had not
seen him or her either after the death or within 14 days
before the death, the death must be reported to the coroner,
as explained later in section 5 of this guide.
See later sections in this guide on what to
do next.
3. Expected death in hospital
If the death occurs in hospital, the hospital
staff will contact the person named by the deceased as next
of kin.
If close family or friends are in hospital,
it is important that you make sure that hospital staff are
aware of and have recorded details of the next of kin in
case of emergency.
A doctor will issue a Formal Notice and Medical
Certificate, as in section 2 above. See later sections in
this guide on what to do next.
The hospital will keep the body in the hospital
mortuary until the next of kin arranges for it to be taken
away. Please note that the hospital will not normally release
the body until the Green Form is obtained from the Registrar
of Deaths. The process for obtaining the Green Form is explained
below in section 12 of this guide.
Hospital staff will also arrange for the next
of kin to collect the deceased's possessions.
If you are asked for permission to do a post-mortem
then please do not agree to this. As it is an expected death,
doctors will only ask for research purposes. Islam does
not permit post-mortems if they are not required by the
law.
4. Unexpected death
If you discover a body or the death is sudden
or unexpected, you should contact the following people:
-
The family doctor
- The deceased's next of kin
- The local mosque
If necessary, the police will help find the
people listed above.
If the cause of death is quite clear the doctor
will be able to certify the cause of death and he or she
will give you the following:
-
A Formal Notice that states that a doctor
has signed the Medical Certificate and tells you how the
death can be registered and
-
A Medical Certificate that shows the cause
of death (this is free of charge and will be given in
a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of Deaths).
If the doctor treating the deceased had not
seen him or her either after the death or within 14 days before
the death, the death must be reported to the coroner as explained
in the next section of this guide.
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