Mufti Menk – Don’t Bathe Me In Public When I Die

			Salaam Alaikum.
		

			My brothers and sisters, when you pass away, it is your right that your body is given respect by
those who are left behind. If you have children, your children, your spouse, your parents, your
brothers and sisters, those are the closest relatives to you. It is your right, that they respect
you. And part of this respect is that when they do what is known as the whistle, and the Kevin, you
know, the washing of the body, and it's as simple bathing of the body, they make sure that minimum
number of people are watching this, nobody's allowed to just sit on the side and watch you being
bathed. When I have a bath in this world while I'm alive, I wouldn't like the whole world to watch
		

			me bathed. And when I've passed away, what makes people think that it's now okay for everyone to
stand around and watch what's going on. That is disrespect. So from an Islamic perspective, if you
ever come across people bathing a deceased person, and there are others who are just watching, you
need to know something wrong is going on. To offer the respect to this person, you minimize the
numbers, and who should be the ones who bave me those closest to me only two, three or four, you
don't really need more than that. And the minute everyone is standing around, that is wrong.
Remember this. So they need to respect you when you pass away by minimizing the numbers of people
		

			who bave you and by ensuring that only those who are closest to you actually bathe you, they could
be something with your body. Maybe because you've passed away, they might have been an illness or
sickness, something you may be embarrassed with, you kept it through your life. And now at the point
of death, everyone must see what's going on. That's wrong, even if there is a cloth and they should
be and there must be a cloth on top of the body of the deceased while they're bathing the deceased.
So at times, there are a few things that might be slightly exposed here and there. You know, you
have to wash the body with soap or in a correct way in a very respectful way. So
		

			initially, when the situation was not as it is, today, we used to have people who were bathed by
their family members were within their own properties. I mean, I own a house, for example, it's my
right that I am bathed in a respectful way in my property, unless I have stated that I'd like to be
may be bathed elsewhere, okay? And enshrouded, meaning putting the captain on when we put in the
shout on also, the world is not supposed to be there, just a few people basics, very, very minimum
numbers. That's the thing. And it has to be done behind closed doors. That is an Islamic duty. I've
seen people nowadays bathing others in a public spot with 5060 people standing around them, that's
		

			prohibited. That's wrong. No one talks about it. Imagine me imagine you everyone's going to be
watching you being bathed. I mean, what an insult. And then when you're being shouted, the whole
world comes in, says do this and do that. And that one. And you know, sometimes by default, you
might have exposure of a little limb or an organ. And that's insulting. That's not supposed to be
the case. Respect the deceased, Allah says very clearly.
		

			And also panela. My brothers and sisters, nowadays, we have a facility in some communities, very,
very few privileged communities have a facility whereby they bave SubhanAllah. I know in some Muslim
countries, if you pass away in Madina, munawwara, for example, they take over and they do all of
that for you, they take with them only one or two family members, and they help you do everything.
And they sorted out for you because they have a facility that belongs to the government. And it's a
public facility that everyone will go through. But not everyone has those facilities. So you obeyed
them at home. And if you can't, then you shift it to another home because maybe you live in a high
		

			rise or something, you shifted to another home where they would have been comfortable, and you bade
them in a respectful way and then shroud them before the prayer of janazah or the prayer of for the
deceased is done before the burial.
		

			And so panela in some countries, like I said, they are privileged they have a facility awesome
facility. Don't think you're you know, the whole world has that you're very privileged if you have
that facility and sometimes that facility
		

			is very good and people, the the, the family of the deceased, don't mind for or would like the body
to go there. So it's their right, that it stays within the house and it's their right to forego
that.
		

			And to allow it to happen within a facility that is beautiful, or that will do the job Subhana
Allah, still the numbers, they should be minimized, minimized. And especially someone who didn't get
along with that deceased person don't allow them to participate in the enshrouding, in the baiting
of that deceased after death, you know, they didn't get along with them during their lifetime. What
are they coming to do now, after death, they shouldn't be there, they should be they had a problem,
they should have solved their problem prior to death.
		

			SubhanAllah. So if they've chosen to take the body to such a beautiful facility, because you're
privileged enough to have that facility, then Alhamdulillah. Now in some countries, it's illegal to
actually do the baling within the home. in those places, it's the duty of the Muslim community to
have a facility where people will be bathed and enshrouded in the correct way. And then the burial
committees would then help and they would take over to a certain extent, they too need to know,
please minimize the numbers of people who are doing the bathing and the enshrouding because that is
of absolute importance, give respect to people. Alhamdulillah. And I want to end off by saying one
		

			quick thing. May Allah grant us ease and goodness, if the deceased has been injured, or something
has happened to the deceased in a way that the face is, is perhaps what can I trying to use a
respectful word is disfigured. And it's going to be difficult for the family to actually see that
it's better in Islam, not to see that or not to or for the family not to see that and to let the
person be buried with the last beautiful memories of the face and the body that would be
everlasting, then to scar that beautiful memory by looking at something totally disfigured of your
loved one. It's better, it's not prohibited or permissible. I mean, it's not it's not some ruling of
		

			halal and haram. It's just a ruling to say it's better to let it go with the beautiful memories
you've had, rather than looking at something totally mutilated, where that beautiful memory is going
to be scarred forever. May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us goodness, I'm going to come back and
speak a little bit more about some of these topics because you know, when I die, may Allah grant us
a good death. But I wouldn't like to be bathed in public with so many people screaming and yelling
pass the water and do this and do that and look at that and you know, clean this and clean that and
wash this and wash that. What an embarrassment so Hannah law, can we not offer some form of respect
		

			to our deceased? May Allah bless all of us is a common law. Apolo Kohli hada sallallahu ala nabina.
Muhammad was Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah