This is with reference to the letter ‘Funeral feasts’, which was a pertinent commentary on a social evil that has gripped society. We see massive exaggerations at funerals that have made it just about impossible for us to learn a lesson from the death of a close relative.
Earlier, a funeral used to be a simple affair, but that is no more the case. Watching a photographer and even a team of videographers is not a rarity. This content is then posted on social media.
Praying for the dead right after burial is perfectly understandable, but adding new grave-site rituals is a surprise. I was born and raised in the same community with the same belief system by truly practicing parents, but had never seen such practices in the first 32 years of my life that I had spent in Karachi. Today, it is a different story altogether. The funeral feasts last several days, even weeks.
The Arabic verse the Muslims recite at funerals has a significance of its own. ‘Indeed, to the Almighty we belong, and, indeed, to Him we shall return.’ More than being a prayer for the dead, it is a reminder to the believers that life is temporary and we must prepare for afterlife. While we recite the verse, instead of getting ready for the afterlife, we prepare for the funeral and the feasts.
We, the Pakistanis, have adopted such a different path — paved by social, cultural and deviated beliefs, and aided by a rising standard of living and remittances — that many have stopped attending funerals and everything that goes afterwards.
Muslims take it as a social and religious responsibility to participate in funeral prayers and attend the funeral of Muslim brethren, but our practices are depriving our own dead of the prayers of many.
MEHDI RIZVI
PICKERING, CANADA
