Q.1. Why is it that when a Muslim dies he cannot be cremated? What happens to a person who dies in a fire and is burned to death, or one who dies in a plane crash? Some people suggest that the soul remains in the grave until the Day of Judgment, while others say that the angels take it to a part of heaven where it remains until the Day of Judgment. Will we be judged for everything we do in this life and in the after life until the Day of Judgment?
Q.2. Could you please explain the meaning of the Qur’anic statement that the food of Christians and Jews is permissible, and how do we reconcile that with the requirement that we must eat only what is halal?
Shirene Ali, USA
A.1. In Islam, we are required to take special care of how we deal with our dead. Thus, when a Muslim dies, his relatives attend to him or her, washing their bodies thoroughly and wrapping them in clean shrouds, offering a special congregational prayer for them before burying them. Cremation is burning, and fire is the symbol of divine punishment. Therefore, it is not appropriate to cremate loved and dear ones when they die.
People who die in unusual circumstances, such as those who die in a fire or an accident, should also be treated with respect. If we can retrieve their bodies, or whatever remains of them, we prepare them for burial in the same way. If nothing of their bodies is found, then we offer the janazah prayer for them, even though the body is not present.
It is not true that the soul remains in the grave. To start with, we know very little about the soul, or the spirit, and what happens to it. God says in the Qur’an: “They ask you about the spirit. Say, (knowledge of) the spirit belongs to my Lord; and you have been given but scanty knowledge.” (17: 85) Therefore, we accept in this regard only what is stated in the Qur’an and authentic Hadith. The Prophet tells us, for example, that the spirits of martyrs remain within green birds flying in heaven. We are judged on the basis of what we do in this life. Once we die, there is no more work to be judged. The after life is the one that begins with the Day of Judgment.
A.2. The clause mentioned in the Qur’an gives a concession which allows us to eat the food of people who belong to earlier divine religions, even though it may not meet Islamic requirements in the way it is slaughtered or prepared, provided that it does not include something that is specifically forbidden to us. Thus, if a Christian gives us pork to eat, or something cooked with wine, such food is not permissible for us because the flesh of swine and alcoholic drinks are specifically forbidden to us. But if a Christian offers us lamb, or beef, we accept it without inquiring about the method of its slaughter. Even if the method used differs from what we are required to observe, it remains permissible, because this is a concession given to us by God.
