Hwk 55

Originally I had planned on writing a paper about religion and how it affects how one cares for the dead and their thoughts on the afterlife. But after I realized that I was already busy working on my exhibition I felt like the last thing I wanted to do was to write another paper. So, I decided to ask my teacher at Madarsah (the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious) if she could focus one of her class periods based on parts in the Quran which discussed the afterlife and possibly connect it to other beliefs. She happily agreed with this idea because we are used to reading the Quran and discussing its translations as a class; she focus on surahs (chapters from the Quran) which discussed the rewards of paradise and the torture one will experience if admitted into hell. She also referred to the Hadith (A collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad) which was able to tie together Islamic beliefs on the afterlife. These are some parts of the Quran and Hadith which we ended up discussing:

Verses from the Quran:
"Every soul shall taste death. And We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To Us must you return." (Surah al-Anbiyaa)

“It is He Who brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living and Who gives life to the earth after it is dead: and thus shall ye be brought out (from the dead).” (Ar-Room)

Hadith:
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: There is nothing heavier than good character put in the scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection.”

“Verily. Allah would say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who have mutual love for My Glory’s sake? Today I shall shelter them in My shadow when there is no other shadow but the shadow of Mine.”

Throughout the whole discussion I found myself nodding my head. I agree with everything which is stated in the Quran and Hadith; not only about death, but all topics discussed. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to gather a collection of photos while attending the class because many Muslim women do not like being photographed for religious reasons.

In addition to sitting in on this class, I decided to compare how my personal death plans and thoughts on the afterlife compare to those who have a different faith.
Questions asked: How do you want to be approached after your death? What are your thoughts about the afterlife?

Anonymous (Catholic): “I want to be washed and clothed by her family. “I want to be placed in a wooden casket which would not harm the environment and help me decompose and go back into earth. I do not want to be cremated because many Catholics do not cremate themselves. Cremation is not considered traditional for Catholics. I want people to pay their respects and remember me after I die. I want to have a service (Mass) after my burial. According to my religion and what I believe in, I think that I will join God in heaven or go to hell. This will depend on whether I followed the path God wanted me to follow and if my sins are forgiven or not. I believe the afterlife will be a like a birds eye view from the sky; looking down on people and meeting God if I am granted to spend my afterlife in heaven.”

Anonymous (Jewish): “I never really thought about how the dead should be approached until my grandmother and father in law passed away last year. My father in law was cremated, but this was against the Jewish faith so it was considered untraditional. This made me upset because I like the idea of having a traditional funeral. My grandmother in the other hand had much more of a traditional burial; I took part in this by sitting Shiva. This death was expected since my grandmother was aged. She understood this fact and made it clear that she wanted to be with her husband (in the afterlife). I want to have a traditional Jewish burial which consists of a being wrapped up in a cloth and having the body placed in a pine casket. This casket would then be buried into the ground and decomposed back into earth. I don’t have much of an idea about the afterlife since Judaism does not have a strong focus on the afterlife. I guess there will be lots of clouds and a big man with a beard (possibly a rabbi). I do not want my religion to be oppressive on me. Religion should play a part in a meaningful life but it should not be forced upon you.”

After attending the Islamic class which focused on the afterlife in Islam and hearing about thoughts from those who follow different faiths made me realize that religion does indeed affect the way one approaches death and his/her thoughts on the afterlife.