The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
PEOPLE of the muslim faith conduct their funerals and burials in a unique way.
One act that has been shrouded in mystery is how they wash the bodies of the deceased as they prepare them for burial.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail Society, Baitul Salaam Mosque teacher, Ustaaz Ayaabu Phiri said at the beginning of every process of washing the dead, those carrying the duty should say “Bismillah”, which means ‘In the name of Allah’.
He also said the corpse should be washed in a clean, spacious and secluded area bearing in mind that sanitation is always the first priority to avoid infection.
“When we are washing a corpse, its laid in a tub and covered in a sheet. In the event that the person died with clothes on, the corpse is undressed while covered with a sheet because our religion forbids us to see them naked.
“Since we will be three or more, we have a team that holds the sheet above the deceased to cover them while the others undress the deceased. The whole team will be wearing protective clothing.
“The church always has protective clothing readily available in cases of emergency,” said Ustaaz Phiri.
“As we perform ablution, we begin with the right side and first wash the deceased’s palms then tilt them a bit to the right (still under the cover of the sheet) and slightly press under the diaphragm or the upper abdomen. Then we wash their private parts.
“After washing the hands, we wipe the mouth, followed by the nostrils with wet cotton, making sure no water enters the deceased body.
Ustaaz Abu Hurayrah, another teacher, said the process of washing the deceased should be done at least three times or more, depending on how much is necessary to cleanse the dead body.
“After washing the mouth and nostrils, we go on to block both nostrils with cotton then wash the entire face, before rewashing the hands again, beginning with the right hand. Just like when we are entering into prayer.
“After that we wipe the head, wash the feet up to the ankles beginning with the right foot and then tilt the person so that they lie with the right side up. We then wash the right side from the neck to the toes. We then tilt them again and wash the left side from the neck to the toes,” said Ustaaz Hurayrah.
The body is then flashed with water from the head to the toes while they scrub it. Again, the body remains covered.
According to Ustaaz Admit Malik Musademba, body lotion is smeared on the deceased body.
“We apply lotion if available although many times Camphor cream is used.
This marks the end of the washing process. The water is wiped off the body using another cloth.
Ustaaz Musademba explained: “In some cases, the religion demands that if it is a woman who had long hair, after washing her the hair has to be combed and braided into three braids according to Prophet Muhammed’s teachings that hair should be made into three braids for simplicity in burial.”
Since they do not use coffins, the body is then shrouded in white sheets.
“The number of shrouds differ according to sex.
‘‘Men are covered in three shrouds always, which are the izzar, lifafah and the qamees while the women require two more which are the orni and the sinaband.
Mrs Tariro Mamu, an elderly woman who also has experience in washing the dead at Baitul Salaam Mosque, said for women an orni (head gear) is then wrapped around their head and lastly the sinaband is wrapped from under the armpits to the thighs.
“This resembles under wear because we believe women’s private parts should always be protected.
“If by the time of death she had been menstruating or experiencing child birth bleeding, padding should be done to prevent spoiling the shrouds,” she said.
Where perfume is available, it is sprayed on the forehead, nose, hands, knees and feet of the body.
The deceased’s left hand should be placed on their chest, their right hand should be on top of the left to resemble the posture during salat (prayer).
Responding to widespread beliefs, Ustaaz Hurayrah said under no circumstances is a hose pipe inserted into the deceased’s mouth to wash their intestines.
