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| The Ghusal Facility of Saaberie Chishty Muslim Burial Society at its Jilani Baba Centre in Extension 6, Lenasia. Photo: Waseem Camroodeen, December 2018. |
In this globally unprecedented period, even the way we bury our dead has had to be forcefully adapted in order to mitigate the prospect of Coronavirus spreading.
Fully aware of this, almost all of South Africa’s Muslim burial organisations have issued clear public notices and ensured funerals and burials are conducted with meticulous safety and adherence to recommendations prescribed during our country’s 21-day lockdown era.
One of them, the Azaadville Burial Committee explained it as: “The Protocol of Burial/Mayyits for the 21-day lockdown: Natural home death - Family to get Notice of Death/1663 form; Must be completely filled with doctor’s stamp, NB: Declaration of death by paramedic not accepted by Home Affairs. ID document of deceased must be available immediately. ID of informant must be available immediately. Proof of address of deceased - Available immediately. Ghusl will take place ASAP, will not be able to wait for people coming from out of town and so on; Maximum 3 family members will be allowed to assist for Ghusal. Time for mayyit should be kept ASAP. Maximum 100 people as per government regulations will be allowed; Preferably immediate family, this will be monitored by respective authorities.
“Similar procedure for Hospital deaths will be as per above…unless: Death of corona victim - All paperwork as above. Ghusl, only 2 members from burial with full PPE (PEOPLE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT). Body (placed) in 2 body bags, Kafan. Immediate burial after ghusl. Mayyit will not be allowed to be taken home after ghusal, no exceptions. Maximum of 10 people will be allowed as per government regulation to attend the Mayyit. ABC members will assist families in the best possible way.”
With slight variations, similar rules were set by other Muslim burial entities like the Benoni Muslim Burial who put in a requisite such as: “Families will be requested to adorn the full protective equipment”; or Saaberie Chishty and Central Muslim Burial who’d stipulate points such as: “No Wudhu or toilet facilities will be accessible at the cemetery”; or the Central Islamic Trust-Fordsburg Muslim Youth Organisation who, more stringently, have requested: “At a facility (hospital or mortuary) only one family member to be present for identification purposes; Only five family members allowed at cemetery; We will not transport any family in hearse, family must make own transport arrangements to cemetery”. The same organisation have also set up a ‘Covid-19 Task Team’, trained with current regulations to deal with such deaths.
The Cape Town-based Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) have also created detailed protocol for how their members should handle deaths during this difficult period. Some notable points in their revised code are: “For COVID-19 deaths: The ghusl (washing of the deceased’s body) must only be performed if the necessary precautions, as set out by the Western Cape Department of Health, are adhered to. These include the wearing of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by those washing the body and the disinfection of the ghusl facility, bier, and hearse. In the absence of these requirements, the ghusl must NOT take place; The mayit will only be placed in two plastic body bags and, thereafter, be wrapped in a kafan (white cotton shroud). If the requirements are met, after the completion of the ghusl, the body must be placed in two plastic body bags, thereafter, be wrapped in a kafan. All cotton, cloths, swabs and the deceased’s clothing, which was worn before passing, must be discarded as medical waste.
“The registered Muslim undertakers and the COVID-19 trained ghaasil must adhere to confidentiality norms and trust when conducting the ghusl. A member of the ghusl team should document the entire process for record purposes. The Janaza Salah must be performed at the Maqbara as all masaajid are closed for the duration of the lockdown. The deceased must be lowered into the grave by a maximum of three people in full PPE. A maximum of 20 people are allowed to attend the Janaza, including the Imaam and members of the burial service.
“A register of all attendees at all Janaa-iz, including immediate family, must be recorded even where the COVID-19 status of the deceased is unknown or negative. Whilst the world is in the midst of the pandemic, families should assume that any attendee to both COVID-19 and normal funerals may be infected with the virus. Physical distancing measures should, therefore, be observed: Limit the number of people attending the Janaza; No touching or kissing of the forehead or any other part of the mayit is allowed; Social distancing of at least 1.5 meters must be adhered to throughout the procession; Handshaking or hugging should be avoided; Only a driver and one passenger are allowed to travel in each vehicle.”
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