SURINAME – Dai Ambassador Dompet Dhuafa has been dispatched since March 20, 2023, to 14 countries to spread Islam to various parts of the world. Dompet Dhuafa itself targets one of the countries in South America, Suriname.
Dai Dompet Dhuafa, assigned to the country, is Ustaz Badrussalim. During his few days there, he shared his experience as an imam praying the corpse and his funeral culture.
“Ustaz joined in mourning death,” said Ustazah Noer Laeliyah, Partner Dai Ambassador Suriname, on Saturday (1/4/23) to Ustaz Badrus.
According to Ustaz Badrus’ records, at 14:00 local time, he left with Ustaz David, husband of Ustazah Noer, to the New Village of Saramacca District. When he got there, the funeral prayer procession was immediately carried out.
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“I was asked (to be) the imam of prayer. Mourners pray while wearing shoes. I took off the slippers and leaned on the slippers. The front position of the head of the corpse faces East, and the term in Javanese (madep ngetan). Because here there are two qibla, East (ngetan) and West (ngulon),” wrote Ustaz Badrus.
After praying, Ustaz David’s turn was to give a death lecture like the dedication of the corpse (release of the body into the tomb), which lasted about 20 minutes. The funeral ceremony itself was inside the cemetery area before the inner entrance.
According to Ustazah Noer Laeliyah, this was deliberately done so that all mourners came to the tomb and listened to lectures to remind them of death. So that the implementation is carried out in the cemetery area, although it is usually done at the funeral home.
According to Ustazah Noer, the wisdom is that all people who mourn, both Muslims and non-Muslims, can all hear. No one went home and helped deliver the body until all the processes were completed.
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After the release lecture, the body was taken to the grave that had been dug and burial using a coffin that had been given soil in the coffin.
“Now, what is quite surprising is that the depth of the grave is relatively shallow because it is about one meter deep. The width itself is 1 meter; the length certainly corresponds to the length of the corpse. If in our place in the village, according to fiqh information, its depth is in Javanese (sak dedek sak pengawe), aka as deep as people descend into the grave. But this is not the case, only one meter,” explained Ustaz Badrus in his note.
He also explained that the landfill also alternated with shovels, little by little and kept changing people. After the burial, there was another post-funeral lecture, namely talqin, which lasted for 15 minutes and ended with the corpse’s prayer handed over to Ustaz Badrus.
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According to Ustaz Badrus, the condition of his tomb is almost the same as in Indonesia, namely with a varied headstone, but the average size is large. The body’s position is mentioned as the belief of the Javanese Surinamese people. Some are still facing ngulon (West), so the direction of his tomb is facing his head in the North. As for those who believe in facing ngetan (East), then head on to the South.
“This is the funeral process in Suriname. May the deceased get mercy from Allah Almighty, be forgiven for all his sins, and have the best place by His side. Amen, Allahumma amen,” concluded Ustaz Badrus. (Dompet Dhuafa/Ustaz Badrussalim/Awalia R)