Message From The President
In the name of Allah, the all-Beneficent, the all-Merciful
May Allah shower His blessings upon Prophet Muhammad (SAW) & his exalted Ahlulbayt (AS).
Whilst death is a reality which no one can deny, living members of a community can still do things to improve the spiritual status of the dead during the barzakh, the purgatory. One such way is to visit the graves of the Marhumeen. In words of the Sixth Imam (a.s.), “they recognize you [when you visit them] and feel lonely when you leave them”. Another way is to perform acts of goodness in their name such as giving charity on their behalf to the poor and the needy. I am indeed thankful to our IT team who has taken the time and effort to gather and update the names of the deceased who are buried in our cemeteries in Vancouver and I am confident that this will help our future generations in locating the graves of their family members, friends and marhumeen. Inshallah, this will allow them to visit them occasionally and reciting surahs for them at the grave. This is the least that one can do to fulfill the rights of the deceased.
Additionally, this site has tremendous wealth of information of resources related to many different aspects of death such as how to perform, ghusl, kafan, duas, supplications and also preparation for death such as the writing of an Islamic Will. As we reflect on the personalities that are buried in our cemeteries, please also do ponder on the wonderful contributions that they have made to further our community in Vancouver and thank them for their contribution and legacies
Salaams and duas
Dr. Akber Mithani
President
Message From Shaykh Murtaza Bachoo
In the name of Allah, the all-Beneficent, the all-Merciful
Salaamun Alaykum
Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.
The Qur’an teaches us that death is an inevitable part of life, and that no soul shall escape from tasting death. However, the Qur’an also points out that death is not the end of life. It is a beginning to a new life. Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli, commenting on the verse ‘every soul shall taste death’ explains this concept in the following manner:
It is we who taste death, not death that tastes us. It is we who cause death to die, and it is not death that causes us to die. The truth is that death does not destroy a human being, it is the human who destroys death once and forever. Just as a person who tastes water, consumes the water, and not the water that consumes him.
Just as we shall all experience death, we also sometimes experience the loss of a close relative or a friend. Such a loss is a test from Allah (S), for us to demonstrate with patience that we truly submit to the will of Allah (S).
We are naturally grieved at the loss of a close one, and crying or mourning is not contrary to the dictates of patience. When the Prophet of Allah (s) lost his son Ibrahim, tears were seen flowing from his eyes. When asked about them, he stated, “The eye is tearful, and the heart is grieving, but we do not say that which displeases Allah (S).”
However, the Prophet of Allah (s) also taught us that there are ways in which we can benefit the souls and the graves of the marhumeen (deceased). He taught us that we can gift the marhumeen by performing acts of worship and charity on their behalf. The website contains a comprehensive paper prepared by the Academy for Learning Islam on some of these acts.
May Allah cause happiness to enter the graves of all of our marhumeen.
Murtaza Bachoo
Spiritual Consultant to the Az-Zahraa Islamic Center
12th Novemeber 2012