Death is a reality in which all human beings believe. However, it is also a reality which most of us like to keep out of our minds.

In Islam, death is not an end to our existence; it is a passage, which takes us from this world to the hereafter – the actual purpose for our creation and the result of our work in this life. Whether we fear death or not depends on how much we have prepared for the reckoning of the Day of Judgement.

Preparing for death is a lifetime’s job. It begins on the day you reach the age of bulugh and are held accountable for your deeds in the eyes of Almighty Allah. Imam ‘Ali bin Abu Talib (a.s.) has beautifully described the preparation for death as follows: “Fulfilling the obligations, refraining from forbidden [things, and acquiring noble character.”

In this article, I have attempted to present some of the things which all believers are either required or strongly urged to do just before death by the shari’ah.

Before death, try your best to fulfil the obligations, which are upon you in regard to the creatures as well as the Creator

Return to the owners whatever has been given to you as a trust or write it down in your will so that the executor of your will shall return the trust to its rightful owner. In Islam, you are allowed to dispose up to one-third of your estate for whomsoever or whatever cause you like. As for the two thirds, it must be distributed among your heirs according to the shares allocated for them in the shari’ah.Make a will in writing or verbally about those religious obligations which you could not fulfil by yourself and which cannot be done on your behalf by others except after your death: the qadha prayers, fasting and pilgrimage (hajj), etc. You should specify the amount from the one-third of your estate to be used to hire people to do such deeds. If you cannot afford this, then you may request your heirs to do unfulfilled rituals on your behalf voluntarily or pay someone else to do so.

It is also recommended, if your financial circumstances allow you, to include your deserving relations in the one-third of your estate.

It is recommended to forgive your brethren in iman for whatever wrong they may have done to you. On the other hand, you should ask your brethren in iman to forgive you for the intentional and unintentional wrong you may have done to them.

When death approaches you, it is wajib on you to lie down on your back in such a way that the soles of your feet face the qiblah (direction of Mecca). Or you may turn your bed in such a way that your soles will face the qiblah. If you cannot do so yourself, then it is wajib on those who are with you to help you.

It is recommended to say by yourself or repeat after someone else the declaration of faith and statement of faraj.

The declaration of faith:
It is a declaration in which you reconfirm your belief in Allah, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), the twelve Imams (a.s.), the Qu’ran, and the Day of Judgement.
This may be done as follows:
Radhitbu bil-lahi Rabban;
Wa bi Muhammadin (sal-lal-lahu ‘alayhi wa alihi) nabiyyan;
Wa bil Islami dinan;
Wa bil Qur’ani kitaban;
Wa bil Ka’bati qiblatan;
Wa bi’ Aliyyan waliyyan wa imaman;
Wa bil Hasan, wal Husayn, wa ‘Aliy-yib nil Husayn;
Wa Muhammad bin ‘Aliyyan,
Wa Jafar ibn Muhammadin;
Wa Musa ibn Ja’farin, wa ‘Ali yibn Musa;
Wa Muhammad ibn Aliyyin; wa Ali yibn Muhammadin;
Wal Hasan ibn ‘Aliyyin; wal Hujjat ibnil Hasan (salawatul-lahi ‘alayhim) aimmatan wa sadatan wa qadatan;
Bi him atawalla, wa min a’da’ihim ata-barra
Wa an-nas sa’ata atiyatun la rayba fiha;
Wa annal-laha yab’athu man fil qubur;
Wa annal hisaba haqqun; wa annal jannata haqqun;
Wa annan nar haqqun

I have accepted Allah as the Lord, Muhammad (s.a.w.) as the Prophet, Islam as the religion, the Qur’an as the Book [of God, the Ka’bah as the qiblah.

And [I accept ‘Ali as the waliy [of Allah and [my Imam; and Hassan, Hussein, ‘Ali ibn Hussein, Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, Ja’far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja’far, ‘Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, ‘Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn ‘Ali, and al-Hujat ibn al-Hassan (a.s.) as Imams, leaders and guides – I declare my love for them and declare my disassociation with their enemies.

And [I believe that surely the Hour [of Doom will come in which there is no doubt; and that Allah will resurrect all those who are in their graves. And [I believe that the reckoning [of our deeds is the truth; the Paradise is the truth and that the Hell is the truth.

La ilahah il-lal lahu Halimul Karim;
La ilaha il-lal lahu ‘Aliyyul ‘Azim;
Subhana ‘l-laha Rabbus samawatis sab’i
Wa Rabbul ardhinas sab’i;
Wa ma fee hinna wa ma bayna hunna
Wa ma fawqa hunna wa ma tahta hunna;
Wa Rabbul ‘arshil ‘azim;
Wal hamdu lil-lahi Rabbis ‘alameen.
There is no god but Allah, the Gentle, the Kind;
There is no god but Allah, the High, the Great;

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the seven heavens and the lord of the seven earth’s, and whatever is in them and whatever is between them, and whatever is above them and whatever is below them; and [He is the Lord of the Great Throne.

And all praise be to Allah, the lord of the Universe.

It is recommended to move the dying person to his/her usual place of prayer in the home. This is recommended only if it does not cause pain or inconvenience to the dying person.

It is recommended to recite two surahs, Yasin (no. 36) and as-Saffat (no. 37), near the dying person. According to the traditions, this will relive the pangs of death.

Soon after a person dies, it is recommended to do the following things:
Close the eye-lids of the dead person.
Close the mouth of the dead person.
Tie the two jaws so that the mouth does not open.
Straighten his/her arms and place them on the two sides of his body.
Straighten his/her legs.
Cover the dead body.
Switch on the light in the room where the dead body is kept.
Arrange the funeral as soon as possible.
Inform the mu’mineen to attend the funeral.

They cover Ghusl/Kafan/Dafan i.e., washing, shrouding, and burying. Basically, these are Wajib (obligatory) acts for all of us but Kifai - Wajibe Kifai, which means if one or more persons undertake to do, others are absolved. Else it is wajib on everyone.

Therefore, it is essential for all of us to know the basics of burial rituals in case we are called upon to perform them when it becomes obligatory for us to do so according to the Shar’ia.

First Obligatory Wajib Act Ghusl-e-Mayyit (Ritual Wash of the Dead Body)

It is wajib to give three Ghusls to a Muslim dead body.
First Ghusl with water mixed with Sidr (berry or lotus) leaves.
Second Ghusl with water mixed with camphor.
Third Ghusl with pure water.

Note: The quantity of “Sidr” leaves or camphor should neither be so much that the water becomes mixed (Mudhaf), nor so little that it may be said that “Sidr” leaves or camphor has not been added in it.

What to do when a death occurs in the Family:
Verify that the deceased is Muslim and the family wants Islamic burial according to “Islamic Laws and Practices”
Check the Web-site under Cemetery for Valuable information.
Contact Ali Houdroge (TEL: 503-646-5799)
He will inform you of all the necessary steps first hand and will coordinate with you to complete this task.
Only in case of emergency call 503 998-2498

You need to arrange with a funeral home of your choice and location. For a list of local funeral homes that you may consider, please Click Here. Charges for services may vary from one to the other. The most reasonable one is Crown Memorial Funeral Homes in Tualatin. Payment of services provided by funeral homes is your responsibility and not MCOP.

Funeral services: This includes picking up the body from Hospital or house to the funeral home to be washed and shrouded, move the body to the Cemetery, and obtain death certificate and burial permit.

Please select from any of these Funeral Homes*:!

The family of the deceased should contact Ali Houdroge at 503 646-5799 if no answer call 503 998-2498

Yes. Responsible party should fill a form provided by MCOP. In addition, the family is encouraged to write a short biography of the deceased to be include in the Peace Centre records for future reference or for future generations.

The body will be washed and shrouded by MCOP volunteers at a funeral home of your choice then transported to The MCOP for Burial. The MCOP does not endorse one funeral home over another but we have negotiated with several local funeral homes to provide the Islamic required services at a reduced cost. Please contact one of them in the Funeral Homes list..

You need to contact one of the listed Funeral Homes to do that. When the body is ready to be released from the hospital, the funeral home should be authorized by the family to recover it and transport it to the funeral home..

MCOP will provide the cloth needed for shrouding (Kafan) and washing the body.

Paying all charges of the funeral home is the sole responsibility of the deceased's family. The funeral home normally expects to be paid in full on the day services are rendered.

The Salatul Janazah will be arranged and held at the MCOP. If the body is brought to the Center before Zuhr prayer, a funeral prayer will be held after the salat so that the body may be buried before Maghrib.

The exact location of the gravesite will be determined by the MCOP who will assign the grave based upon a “first come first serve” master plan for the cemetery.

The digging of the grave will be arranged by the coordination of MCOP and an outside company due to lack of MCOP equipment at this time. This service is to be paid by the responsible family.

Full payment for the plot and this service is sole responsibility of the family of the deceased. Full payment is to be made on the day services are rendered. Please see price list page..

In addition to the funeral home charges and the grave digging charges, the MCOP requests that the family make a suitably comfortable donation to the MCOP to cover our expenses and to ensure a lifetime of cemetery maintenance..

The MCOP has established a standard size for the grave marker. Allowable information is limited to name, date of birth, and death of the deceased. Please see Burial Management for info.

No. Payment should be made directly to the providers of the various services. The MCOP cannot and will not assume responsibility for payment on your behalf.

You need to arrange this with Mahdi Center Spokes person or ICOP’s Board of Founder to see if the Center can be available.

The previous rule applies..

Yes they can

Yes flowers can be placed on the grave.

Please Click Here to read, download or print our Cemetery Rules & Regulation Booklet

Portland did not have an all-Muslim cemetery. Yes, there is a cemetery in Corvallis, but only for a select group of Muslims. Shias could not be buried there and Sunnis who are permitted to be buried, are not allowed to recite even Fatiha at the graves of their loved ones.

As a result of many such harsh restrictions, many Muslims had no choice but to bury their kin in public cemeteries which do not conform to proper Islamic burial laws. True, some cemeteries did designate certain areas for Muslims, but the cost was very prohibitive with the price of the plot alone around $3500-$4000. By the time one added all other charges a typical burial would easily run up to $9000 plus.

Add to that, Muslims do not have control of these grounds. Indeed we have seen many violations of non-Muslims getting buried in the vicinity of the Muslims..

Faced with these very difficult circumstances, our Islamic Center looked to purchase a piece of land to build an all-Muslim cemetery that would not only fully comply with Islamic burial laws so folks can be comforted to know their loved ones will get 100% Islamic burial, but would also be affordable to all Muslims, Sunnis and Shias, alike.

Alhamdo LILLAH in 2011 we were able to locate 5.5 acres of land, about 15 minutes drive from downtown, in one of the most beautiful areas of Highway 30 (also known as St. Helens Road) in Portland, Oregon.

The process of getting a permit was not easy. To keep it short, let's just say there was a tremendous amount of effort put in to getting the license from both the Multnomah County and the Oregon Board of Mortuary.

We finalized all the paperwork and Alhamdu Lillah got ownership of the property on February of 2015. Our work did not stop here. The property needs a lot of work, and by grace of God we are making small improvements everyday.

We welcome you to come visit Portland's only All-Muslim cemetery. We are located on 21207 NW St. Helens Rd Portland, Oregon 97231. We have a green sign on the highway and it is only 1.7 miles from Cornelius Pass exit on the highway toward Scapoose"