In Islam, the funeral process is the duty and responsibility of the Muslim community.
It is an obligatory act for at least 1 member of the community to perform this duty (referred to as Fard-e-kifaya - an obligation which if performed by at least 1 member of the community, then the entire community is absolved from the responsibility, and if not then the entire community is accountable to God (Allah) for this omission).
The deceased should be buried as soon as reasonably possible.
It is incumbent that we perform the following obligations.
The process involves three essential steps:
- Washing (Ghusl) & Shrouding (Kafan) the body
- The Funeral Prayer (Janaazah Salaah)
- The Burial Process (Janaazah)
All Muslims are buried and there is no cremation after death. There is usually no need for embalming.
In order to have the deceased buried as as possible, it is necessary that the required documentation be obtained as soon as possible.
Post-mortems are only performed for medico-legal purposes.
Muslim Cemeteries Association (MCA) was established in 2022 to assist the public, undertakers and cemeteries to book a burial at a chosen cemetery via an online burial application system. This will assist the community to perform the funeral process.
The information on our site is to provide a general overview of Muslim funerals/janaazah and the online services available. It does not intend to make legal (Fatwa) representations. Our recommendation is to please consult your local Imamat and/or Learned Scholars for any religious (Shariah) interpretations or recommendations.
In South Africa, all burials must be facilitated by a registered Undertaker. A list of registered Undertakers is available for selection at the participating cemeteries.