NoVA Cemetery Seeks Name for “Muslim Section”

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Islamic scholars say if there is a Muslim only graveyard fully owned and managed by the Muslim community available, like Al-Firdaus Memorial Gardens in Frederick, MD, then Muslims should be buried there. Internet photo.


It is hauntingly beautiful—Babyland— where very young children are buried in a heart shaped section of the 200 acre National Memorial Park. Right next to this is where ground is set aside for the new Muslim section at the cemetery. From catering for funerals to slick pamphlets selling grand mausoleums, the National Funeral Home is in the business of death and takes it very seriously.

The cemetery prides itself on serving with dignity and professionalism- corporate style. It is owned by a major corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange called Services Corporation International—North America’s largest single provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services. And now it is asking the Muslim community to help name the new section of the graveyard in Falls Church, Virginia.

The Islamic Garden was purchased in 1957 by the Saudi King, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, to develop one of the first cemeteries for Muslims, for the Islamic Center of Washington. That original lot  has no raised graves, The area set aside for ‘those who proclaim the Islamic faith’ was extended and this area has raised graves called ledgers, with upright, granite tombstones. This section is almost full.

After four years of planning, which include many consultations with area imams Imam Johari Abdul Malik of Dar al Hijrah and Maulana Wali. ”We wanted it to be honorable and appropriate for the Muslim community,” says Kiran Yasin, the funeral home's Muslim liaison. “We did not want it near a statue.” The new section will have all of its thousand graves facing the qiblah. The grave sites can be pre sold but are not dug nor are the concrete vaults installed until needed. The cemetery does not require caskets.

Catering to the privileged, a grave site and burial at National Memorial Park will cost you a minimum of $5000 and can go up to $7000-10,000, depending on the location of the site to the kind of engraving on the gravestone.

A source of concern for many Muslims is that the cemetery is open to people of the Baha'i faith. When asked about this, Yasin says that if people who identify as Muslim ask to be buried there, their company’s policy cannot refuse them. There are a handful of Baha'i graves in the Islamic Garden, but she says most chose to be buried in the main section of the graveyard. The new section will also be open to people of the Baha'i faith, as Yasin says some Baha’is call themselves Islamic.

“We need to have a separate place for Muslims,” says Muneer Baig, President of Manassas Muslim Association.

With the great increase of Muslims in the DC Metro, many imams stress the need for Muslim-owned cemeteries. Imam Muhammad Abdullahi of the Muslim Community Center says that “under normal circumstances, it is impermissible to bury Muslims alongside non-Muslims. It would not be permissible to bury Muslims in a graveyard or a land where people of the other faiths are buried. Similarly, it is impermissible to bury non-Muslims in a land where Muslims are buried. It should be an obligation on the Muslim community to secure a cemetery for Muslims only. In the circumstance that Muslims are not able to obtain a cemetery due to financial reasons or numbers, then it is permissible but should take everyone's effort to secure a portion of a non Muslim cemetery for Muslims only, based on the saying of Salman al-Farisi below,

Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Land does not sanctify anybody, but a person’s own deeds sanctify him.” ( Mentioned by Malik in al-Muwatta' (no. 2232) with the word “man” instead of “person”.) It should be clear to everyone's understanding that having a cemetery purely for Muslims is a fard kifayah meaning it should be obligated on everyone until the action is completed by someone. Our fuqaha were very clear about this issue.”

“There seems to be some misconception in the Muslim community that we only cater to Shia or Aga Khani families, We have some prominent Muslims buried here,” says Ansari. Shaykh Hanooti, the mufti of Northern Virginia passed away last month. His janaza and burial took place at the National Memorial Park, atop a hill in Falls Church, VA. “Some very special people, such as Abdul Mateen of HalalCo, are also buried here,” says Yasin.

Ansari’s father is also buried in the cemetery; she makes sure that she stops by his grave every morning and recites duas next to it before she leaves for home in the evening. She started her work at the funeral home after she experienced the aftermath of her father’s death. “I would not ever want anyone to go through that process alone,” she says. She handholds grieving families through the burial process, offers pre planning of gravesites and conducts the ritual washing of many of the Muslim women who are buried in the graveyard. She follows the guidelines on ghusl and burial as taught by Imam Abdullah Khouj of the Islamic Center of Washington.

She wants the communities help in naming the new Muslim section in an effort to increase engagement with the community. The Muslim section of Mount Comfort, also owned by the same corporation, on 6600 South Kings Highway in Alexandria, Va  is called Bagh-e-Firdaus. The committee of imams which will filter through the names and choose from them has decided that aside from Jannat al Baqi, Jannat ul Mawla and Bagh-e-Firdaus, all other names suggested by the community will be entertained.

You can send in your suggestions for names to Kiran Yasin at kiran.yasin@dignitymemorial.com

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