The Mortuary Washing Facility at Imam Faisal ibn Turki Mosque in Dammam
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 19530 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable Director of the Center for Da'wah and Guidance in Dammam , reference number (22 / 1 / 250), dated 19 / 2 / 1418 AH, accompanied by the inquiry submitted by the person in charge of the mortuary washing facility in Dammam, the brother Muhammad al-Kathiri , which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, reference number (1237), dated 24 / 2 / 1418 AH. And he asked
The questioner asked a question, the text of which is as follows: You know, may Allah preserve you, the eagerness of the sons of this country, and all praise is due to Allah, to follow the Sunnah and avoid religious innovation, emulating the Salaf of this Ummah. From this perspective, and due to the many inquiries regarding the current situation in the Dammam cemetery after the burial of the dead, where there is a movable platform with a ladder for entry and exit, used for condolence and consoling the family of the deceased. After the burial, people gather around it. And out of our concern to prevent certain individual actions by some persons and to prevent some of the issues that arise among people there, between those who support it and those who condemn it, we therefore saw fit to write on this subject for a fatwa. Attached is a report by a member of the Da'wah Center in Dammam , the Shaykh: Ali ibn Husayn al-Ban'ali , the text of which is as follows: In reference to your Excellency's directive regarding the letter from the person in charge of the mortuary washing facility at Imam Faisal ibn Turki Mosque in Dammam , which included the presence of a movable platform with a ladder for entry and exit, used for condolence and consoling the family of the deceased after burial, and your Excellency's request for information about the actual situation, we have therefore investigated what was mentioned. The aforementioned platform has been known for years; it is an iron platform approximately ten meters long and three meters wide, with iron wheels so that it can be moved close to the burial site.
This platform has an iron roof and is surrounded on three sides by iron bars to prevent anyone from falling off the platform, while the fourth, rear side is completely closed off, and a long iron chair has been placed there for the person receiving condolences to sit on if needed. This platform is raised about one meter from the ground, with a ladder at its beginning and a ladder at its end. A sign has been placed at the ladder on the first side reading "Entrance," and a sign at the other side reading "Exit." This platform was placed to protect people from the intense heat of the sun, especially in the summer. The relatives of the deceased stand in it in rows, and people enter this platform to offer condolences, which is done after the burial of the deceased. It has been painted green. This is the actual situation of this platform as I have seen and known. And may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions.
After the Committee's study of the inquiry, it responded by stating that fatwas have previously been issued by His Eminence the Grand Mufti, the Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), on 16 / 5 / 1377 AH, and by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, No. (4474), on 23 / 3 / 1402 AH, and by the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (684 / 2), on 8 / 3 / 1410 AH, all of which included the prohibition of setting up a canopy for condolences around the cemetery gate; due to the harms that result from it, which are not hidden, and because this was not known from the guidance of the Salaf of the Ummah. And if there are
canopies constructed in old cemeteries, they must be removed to block the means to harm. Therefore, what was mentioned regarding the presence of a movable iron platform inside the cemetery is more deserving of prohibition and impermissibility. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable Director of the Center for Da'wah and Guidance in Dammam , reference number (22 / 1 / 250), dated 19 / 2 / 1418 AH, accompanied by the inquiry submitted by the person in charge of the mortuary washing facility in Dammam, the brother Muhammad al-Kathiri , which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, reference number (1237), dated 24 / 2 / 1418 AH. And he asked
The questioner asked a question, the text of which is as follows: You know, may Allah preserve you, the eagerness of the sons of this country, and all praise is due to Allah, to follow the Sunnah and avoid religious innovation, emulating the Salaf of this Ummah. From this perspective, and due to the many inquiries regarding the current situation in the Dammam cemetery after the burial of the dead, where there is a movable platform with a ladder for entry and exit, used for condolence and consoling the family of the deceased. After the burial, people gather around it. And out of our concern to prevent certain individual actions by some persons and to prevent some of the issues that arise among people there, between those who support it and those who condemn it, we therefore saw fit to write on this subject for a fatwa. Attached is a report by a member of the Da'wah Center in Dammam , the Shaykh: Ali ibn Husayn al-Ban'ali , the text of which is as follows: In reference to your Excellency's directive regarding the letter from the person in charge of the mortuary washing facility at Imam Faisal ibn Turki Mosque in Dammam , which included the presence of a movable platform with a ladder for entry and exit, used for condolence and consoling the family of the deceased after burial, and your Excellency's request for information about the actual situation, we have therefore investigated what was mentioned. The aforementioned platform has been known for years; it is an iron platform approximately ten meters long and three meters wide, with iron wheels so that it can be moved close to the burial site.
This platform has an iron roof and is surrounded on three sides by iron bars to prevent anyone from falling off the platform, while the fourth, rear side is completely closed off, and a long iron chair has been placed there for the person receiving condolences to sit on if needed. This platform is raised about one meter from the ground, with a ladder at its beginning and a ladder at its end. A sign has been placed at the ladder on the first side reading "Entrance," and a sign at the other side reading "Exit." This platform was placed to protect people from the intense heat of the sun, especially in the summer. The relatives of the deceased stand in it in rows, and people enter this platform to offer condolences, which is done after the burial of the deceased. It has been painted green. This is the actual situation of this platform as I have seen and known. And may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions.
After the Committee's study of the inquiry, it responded by stating that fatwas have previously been issued by His Eminence the Grand Mufti, the Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), on 16 / 5 / 1377 AH, and by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, No. (4474), on 23 / 3 / 1402 AH, and by the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (684 / 2), on 8 / 3 / 1410 AH, all of which included the prohibition of setting up a canopy for condolences around the cemetery gate; due to the harms that result from it, which are not hidden, and because this was not known from the guidance of the Salaf of the Ummah. And if there are
canopies constructed in old cemeteries, they must be removed to block the means to harm. Therefore, what was mentioned regarding the presence of a movable iron platform inside the cemetery is more deserving of prohibition and impermissibility. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.