It was the death of his son, 28 years ago, that started Mohamed Sayed on his journey to help build Firdaus Memorial Gardens. Sayed and his wife had buried their two year old at the Muslim section of the Maryland National Memorial Park cemetery on Route 1 in Maryland. “At that time, I thought there should be a Muslim cemetery,” says Sayed.
In 1996, the three communities from Frederick, Gaithersburg and Hagerstown met in Frederick for the first time to discuss issues and concerns of their prospective communities. One of the most urgent needs discussed was the issue of Muslim cemetery. “All attendees agreed to pursue the project and the late Dr. Abdul Majeed was appointed to look for a property to serve that purpose,” recalls Sayed.
In 2008, the cemetery came to fruition. Sayed is the Chair of the Islamic Waqf of Maryland (IWM), which manages the 10-acre Firdaus Memorial Gardens cemetery and the 100 acres that it sits on New Design Road in Frederick County, Maryland. Near the banks of the scenic Monocacy River, the Firdaus Memorial Gardens has space to be the burial ground of 8000 Muslims with room for expansion to house 6000 more. Serendipitously, the "Monocacy" means "well-fenced garden" in a Native American language. The late Dr Majeed was the first person buried in the cemetery he envisioned.
Lots are available for $750. “That’s a deal you couldn’t beat with a stick,” says Mohammad Aslam, the administrator of the waqf who handles funeral arrangements. A complete funeral costs $5000, which includes transportation to the cemetery, the concrete vault, digging the grave and funeral home expenses.
The cemetery is an example of what communities can accomplish when they pool resources. 20 minutes away from each center, the Al-Firdaus Memorial Gardens (AFMG) was developed with cooperation of three communities. The IWM is a management services organization formed by the Islamic Center of Maryland (ICM), the Islamic Society of Frederick (ISF), and the Islamic Society of Western Maryland (ISWMD). The ISF, the ICM and ISWMD in Hagerstown each raised money to fulfill this Fardh e Kifayah and bought the land in cash in October 2001.
Serene and picturesque, a gravel road winds down well-kept lawns. A mid size shed is the home of the waqf office and shelters the heavy machinery. The concrete vaults used to line the graves as required by the cemetery to help prevent a grave from sinking are neatly lined up next to the shed. The original plan included a mega-masjid that would serve the three communities for the annual festivals. Plans also included a K-12 Muslim school, and an Islamic learning institution. Those plans were shelved due to inaccessibility to water.
A picnic area with playground for children is next on the agenda, as well as a covered pavilion with fans that will accommodate the funeral prayer.
Aslam, the administrator for the waqf who arranges immediate funerals (he has even done midnight burials), says that he was troubled after visiting his brother’s grave in a cemetery in New York. The lack of Islamic ethics tarred the sanctity of the graves and he wanted to make sure that he is apart of fulfilling this major responsibility of Muslim service and leadership.
The wooded lot was cleared and approximately $300,000 was used to the build roads on the property. Lawn care, snow removal and other maintenance are a tremendous expense says management.
A unique numbering system diminishes wastage of land with a 6-inch gap between each qabr. A metal rod in center of each qabr demarks each grave, which the contractor, Sue and John Johnson, use metal detectors to ascertain and dig out a fresh grave. Simple gravestones mark each grave and candle or incense burning is strictly forbidden.
Sayed often comes to the cemetery to reflect on death and life. He shares his joy in seeing youth of the community play and pray on the grounds. A cricket field is set up in one of the empty sections and families often come and recite Quran. “I visit everyday to open my final home that opened my eyes to the reality of this world,” says Sayed.
A separate infant section forms the entry to the graveyard. The waqf would like to start a funeral home but need qualified Muslim morticians to run it. The endowment plans an apartment complex, a strip mall and a wedding hall on the property. Topping the list of priorities is a senior residential home.
Muslims can continue to use both Muslim cemeteries and Muslim sections in mainstream graveyards, says Imam Adil Khan, but buying gravesites in non-Muslim cemeteries with separate Muslim sections should only be a secondary choice, the first and obvious choice for any Muslim is to be buried in a Muslim cemetery. “Hence, separate land must be purchase by Muslim communities to fulfill this obligation. On the same note Muslim funeral homes are in demand as well, in the entire DMV area there are only few,” says Imam Khan.
Along with the All Muslim Association of America (AMAA) (the Stafford Cemetery) in Fredericksburg, VA (featured in an earlier issue of the Muslim link), and the Islamic Center of Virginia’s large Crescent Memorial, the Al-Barzakh Cemetery as it is popularly known is a Muslim graveyard with its red cedar mulch covered graves in Doswell, in Caroline County, that serves the Muslim community in Virginia. The Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, Inc. (IFSVA), initially developed the approximately one acre of land on route 725 (just off I-95 near Kings Dominion) to accommodate about 100 burial plots. An African-American brother donated the entire lot.
Al Barzakh does not allow flowers, marble tombs and elaborate signs. They also don’t bury the deceased in a cement box or a vault. “We are the only cemetery in the area [where] you don’t have bury in an encasement because of the location of Al-Barzakh is away from residences,” says Dr Safwat Ahmad, the Ameer of IFSVA. Since the cemetery is not located a heavily residential area there are no problems with ground water contamination, burying in just the kafn (shroud) is easily practiced.
The entire funeral is completed for $1000 dollars including land, burial, and headstone. “We are the least expensive in the whole state of Virginia,” he says.
The Barzakh cemetery does not reserve graves for patrons. “Who ever dies, get buried in the next grave and we go in rows. No one will walk over a grave because we go in lines and rows- we eliminated that issue,” he adds.
Describing the method of burial, Ahmad says that three volunteers get inside the grave and the body is laid head first, facing Makkah, they turn the body on the right side and cover it with wood slats. “After that we take 3 handfuls of dirt,” says Dr Ahmad, after shoveling more dirt, the cemetery has a tractor that helps in filling in the grave with dirt.
He emphasized the making of an Islamic will (esp. if one is married to a non Muslim) especially to determine how you will be buried he has seen men being buried in a suit and tie in a casket. One local brother was even burned to death (cremated), he said. “Sign it, have your wife sign it,” he urges.
As of now there is no Muslim cemetery in the Baltimore metro.
“I love to have our own. I think that we should build our own Muslim only cemeteries that are built and controlled by Muslims. We would invest our money in ourselves, Insha’Allah. But, brothers who are married to non-Muslim, Christians or Jewish, wives need to understand that unless their wives become Muslim they would not be allowed to be buried next to them in the Muslim only graveyards. This is only one of the different issues that Muslims must understand regarding the Muslim only graveyard,” says Imam Hassan Amin of Muslim Social Services Agency located in the Baltimore metro. He believes that the need for Muslim graveyards is very urgent.
“This is something that is needed in the Muslim community, because Allah says, "every soul will have a taste of death." Therefore, we all are going to die. We have no reason for not having our own graveyards. We invest heavily in life, homes, cars, land, clothing, etc. why not invest in death? If we cannot have our own graveyard then we purchase a section of an existing graveyard. Again, we always prepare for life, but as Muslims we should also prepare for death. Investing in graveyards is one of the ways we prepare for our ultimate home.”
“It is the responsibility of the Muslim leadership to purchase land, funeral homes, establish janazah funds, certify Imams as morticians so they can take care of the deceased rites according to Islamic principles, purchasing vehicles for transportation of the deceased, etc. The imams must educate the masses about these issues since death is inevitable, it will come sooner or later,” adds Imam Adil Khan.
Imam Faizul Khan of the Islamic Society of Washington Area believes that money should be spent on providing free burial plots for those in the community who cannot afford the entire cost of burial.
Muslim communities in and around the Frederick, ICM and Hagerstown area will receive a survey in the upcoming months to determine other priorities for the development of the land next to Firdaus Memorial Gardens, says Sayed. Keeping the organic needs of the community front and center, whether is a recreation center for youth, camping facilities or a housing development, the waqf management wants to create job opportunities and serve the Muslim community.
Currently, 66-acres of land is leased to a corn farmer. 10 acres are scheduled to be rented to Calvert Energy for a solar farm and will provide electricity to the cemetery.
The waqf is run by Chairman Mohammed Sayed (ISF), Vice Chairman Wael ElKoshairi (ICM), Secretary: Dr. Zubair Faridi (ISWMD), Treasurer: Sayed Naved (ICM), Non-voting members include Waleed Beidas (ISF), Dr. Abdullah Shamim (ICM), and Rafique Chaudhry of ISWMD.
To make arrangements for burial at Al Firdaus Memorial Gardens, including picking up the body from the place of death (transportation), bathing (Ghusl), prayers (Janazah) and transportation to the cemetery, call Mohammed Aslam, AFMG Administrator, at 202-486-3257 or send an email to icmadmin@icomd.org
For investment opportunities call Mohammad Sayed, Chairman IWM, at 301-509-7787 or send an email at sayedm1@hotmail.com
To make arrangements for burial at Al Barzakh Cemetery contact Dr Safwat Ahmad (804) 519-4938, (804) 276-5637
For more information visit FSVA.org
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