:sl:
just saw an aritcle online.
Many people transport the body of deceased relatives abroad for burial. The bodies are legally required to go through a process called Embalming. The following is information regradng the process. It is hoped that the information will insha Allah prevent people from practicing on this tradition of overseas burial.
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Embalming
Embalming is a process to preserve bodies from the time of death until they can be buried or cremated.
Embalming is required when a body is taken out of the country.
A certificate is usually provided by the embalmer.
The Embalming Process
- The body is placed on stainless steel or porcelain table, then washed with a germicide-insecticide-olfactant. The insides of the nose and mouth are swabbed with the solution.
- Rigor mortis (stiffness) is relieved by massage. (Rarely but sometimes, tendons and muscles are cut in order to place the body in a more natural pose if limbs are distorted by disease, e.g., arthritis.)
- Facial features are set by putting cotton in the nose, eye caps below the eyelids, a mouth former in the mouth (cotton or gauze in the throat to absorb purging fluids). The mouth is then tied shut with wire or sutures.
- Arterial embalming is begun by injecting embalming fluid into an artery while the blood is drained from a nearby vein or from the heart. The two gallons or so needed is usually a mixture of formaldehyde or other chemical and water. In the case of certain cancers, some diabetic conditions, or because of the drugs used prior to death (where body deterioration has already begun), a stronger or "waterless" solution is likely to be used for better body preservation.
Chemicals are also injected by syringe into other areas of the body.
- The second part of the embalming process is called cavity embalming. A trocar — a long, pointed, metal tube attached to a suction hose — is inserted close to the navel. The embalmer uses it to puncture the stomach, bladder, large intestines, and lungs. Gas and fluids are withdrawn before "cavity fluid" (a stronger mix of formaldehyde) is injected into the torso.
- The anus and vagina may be packed with cotton or gauze to prevent seepage if necessary. (A close-fitting plastic garment may also be used.)
- Incisions and holes made in the body are sewn closed or filled with trocar "buttons." The body is washed again and dried.
The body is shrouded and placed in the casket.
Chemicals Used
- Typical embalming fluid contains a mixture of formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol, and other solvents. The formaldehyde content generally ranges from 5 to 35 percent and the ethanol content may range from 9 to 56 percent.
- Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxicchemical compound, and is best known as the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
- An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethan
Q/A from Darul 'uloom Deoband:
Assalamualaikum
Q1-When someone passes away, is it permissible to transfer the body from one country to another like Ameer Jamaat Hazratjee Maulana Yusuf R.A his body was transfered from Pakistan to India?
Q2-Was any Sahabah's body transfered from one place to another?
Q3-A person passes away in a country where he has no relatives,if the country where his relatives live is close then is it permissible to transfer the body to that country?
Answer: 7862
Nov 22,2008
(Fatwa: 1611/1528=D/1429)
قال في البزازية نقل الميت من بلد الى بلد قبل الدفن لا يكره وبعده يحرم، قال السرخسي وقبله يكره أيضا الا قدر ميل او ميلين (شامى 305:5 و 663:1)
It means that transferring the death body from one place to another is
makrooh (undesirable) though some Islamic jurists permit it but the preferred ruling is that it is undesirable, so one should avoid it if there is no severe need.
(2) Hadhrat Abdur Rahman (رضي الله عنه) was not buried where he passed away but he was taken to another place and buried there, but Hadhrat Aesha (رضي الله عنها) did object to it. Once in a journey, when she passed by his grave, she said: Had I power I would have not allowed you to be buried here, rather you should have been buried in the place where you breathed the last.
(3) It is allowable to take it to one or two miles, but it is
makrooh tahrimi (undesirable to an extent of
haram) to take it from one country to another:
يندب دفنه في جهة موته اي في مقابر أهل المكان الذي مات فيه أو قتل (شامي 1:602)
Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) knows Best
Darul Ifta,
Darul Uloom Deoband