Kenyan Muslims grapple with COVID-19 restrictions on burials

Sheikh Jalaldeen Osman, the deputy imam of Jamia Mosque in Nairobi, said that Islamic hygiene rules can be the cure to stop the spread of COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Osman.

In early March 2020, Sheikh Omar al Bashir preached to Paul Ndhundhi, at the end of which the Christian man converted to Islam and took the name Wahshi Said Ndhundhi. Unfortunately, the new convert died in July from COVID-19-related complications.

Because of strict burial protocols put in place by the government to contain the spread of the virus, a crucial ritual when a Muslim dies, the washing of the body also known as ghusl, could not be adhered to.

“According to Islamic tradition, the burial of a deceased person is a collective obligation for the Muslim community. This obligation consists of ghusl, ritual washing of dead bodies, kafan, or shrouding the body with pieces of white cloth, and finally salat al-janazah, a funeral prayer,” Sheikh Bashir said, adding that these customs play a big role in mourning the departed as well as giving a sense of closure to those left behind.

Sheikh Bashir, who trained at Cairo’s famed Al Azar University, explained that during ghusl the body of the deceased is cleaned with soap and water, followed by ritual washing, which must be done a minimum of three times. He adds that it is important to ensure that water reaches all parts of the skin, hence the body must be turned during this process.

However, COVID-19 has changed all this, just as it has affected many aspects of the daily lives of millions across the world. But Sheikh Omar Hamza of Kenya’s Council of Islamic Scholars said that Islam allows for suspension of this rite during emergencies.

“One of the major teachings of the Islamic faith is to preserve the living, especially during emergencies. It is therefore prudent that, if washing of bodies during this time of COVID-19 will expose the living to danger, that the ritual can be suspended,” he said.

Sheikh Bashir agreed. “To begin with, our lives as body handlers and those of the rest of the community must not be endangered. The protection of life is the first of the five ultimate objectives of Islamic law and therefore overrides any other Islamic obligations,” he said.

He noted that the Islamic position on any of these three Islamic burial laws for the victims of COVID-19 is dependent on the available medical evidence of how a particular practice could put a life at risk and there is no doubt that the coronavirus can be deadly for those exposed to it.

He continued that “according to Islamic burial rituals, the dignity of the dead and the emotions of their loved ones are to be respected as much as is practically possible in extraordinary situations such as armed conflicts, epidemics, disasters or other catastrophes. This is why we had to skip the ghusl, because the body was to be disinfected thoroughly to avoid any contamination. After which we had to shroud the body in the white sewn shroud, as provided for by Islamic jurisprudence, before sliding the body into the first and the second white body bags.”

On the positive side, the Muslim leaders see that other health measures announced by the government are dovetailing with the teaching of Islam. Specifically, they cite the washing of hands and general hygiene measures being enforced by the government as being complementary to what Islam has been asking of its followers over the centuries.

They cite the practice, known as wudhu, which prescribes how Muslims are to keep themselves clean, especially before the mandatory five-times-a-day prayers. Wudhu is an Arabic term whose English meaning is close to ablution, the specific action of washing certain body parts.

According to Dr. Jamaldeen Osman, the deputy imam of Jamia Mosque in Nairobi, wudhu tells Muslims to wash those body parts that are not always covered. “These parts include the face, hands, feet, ears and nose,” he said, adding that wudhu is vitally important in Islam.

“The case at hand, the plague threatening to wipe the world and that spreads like bushfire, is a real pandemic. The consolation though is that its cure squarely lies in some hygiene, the Islamic way. As Muslims we are required to perform wudhu before offering the prayer five times a day. This enhances that we are purified in a physical and spiritual sense, before we face Allah in worship. Prayer is not acceptable if you do not perform wudhu,” said Sheikh Bashir.

In April, Chief Kadhi Sheikh Ahmed Mohdhar—seeking to set the record straight on whether Muslims could use alcohol-based sanitizers, as had been advised by the government—gave the go-ahead, saying that there should be soap, plenty of water and sanitizers in mosques to ensure that believers keep their hands clean.

Tom Osanjo is a Nairobi-based correspondent for Religion Unplugged. He is a former parliamentary reporter and has covered sports, politics and more for Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper.