British Muslims Bury Corona’s Bodies with the Shaf Method

London, MINA – High mortality rates due to the coronavirus in the United Kingdom have changed the burial patterns for Muslims. The life scale of the coronavirus can be seen at a cemetery in South London.

At Eternal Gardens, a cemetery that serves the Muslim community in London, things change. Because of the high mortality rate, this cemetery introduces the pattern of burial shaf. This method places the body in rows named after the Arabic word meaning ‘line’.

It is the first time British Muslims have buried 10 people at a time in an adjacent order. A total of 10 bodies were buried in one parcel of land and in individual spaces. This method of funeral is different from mass funeral.

The chief executive at the Green Acre cemetery, Richard Gomersall, said, burial by this method was carried out at the request and needs of the Muslim community who came to them.

According to him, Muslims say they must be able to speed up the time they can bury their loved ones.

“Right now, they have to wait one week to two weeks. In the Islamic tradition, that is too long,” Gomersall said as quoted from Sky News on Monday, April 13.

Muslims and Jews rushed to the funeral service. They believe accelerating burial means accelerating the delivery of souls to heaven.

Eternal Gardens prepared two graves. Each grave has a length of 10 meters and a width of two meters. The cemetery can provide a funeral for a total of 40 people.

Gomersall said before the coronavirus broke out, Eternal Gardens would probably do about five burials in a week. However, at this time the burial increased to 30 in a week.

“By introducing the grave of the shaf, we will be able to carry out up to 50 burials in a week. At present, we anticipate it will take place over the next few weeks,” Gomersall said.

At least, there were more than 2,000 people who died from the coronavirus in London hospitals. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)