12-February-2025
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Husn al-Khatima: An NGO That Cares For The Dead

By: Aisha Braima

Khartoum (Sudanow) The NGO, Husn al-Khatima, is a non-profit organization that looks after cemeteries with a view to preparing decent resting places for the dead.
Husn al-Khatima, that literally translates ‘’good ending’’ was launched in 2001, with the rising need for more cemeteries and for the maintenance and protection of existing ones.
Its operatives say it also seeks to help relatives of the deceased and teach them how to prepare them for burial.
Its functions also include the digging of graves, the conduction of burial rites, and, if need be, wash and enshroud the deceased.
Ever since its inception, the charity had fenced over 20 cemeteries in Khartoum state. Its effort had also included the construction of sunshades, the planting of trees, clean-ups and the electrification of the cities of the dead. This activity has also extended to the procurement of shrouds for the needy families and the provision of security within the grave yards.
By the increasing demand for more cemeteries, the charity had strived to add more burial grounds within the existing facilities and open up new cemeteries around Khartoum, for both Moslems and non-Moslems.
The charity’s Secretary General Abdulgadir Ali Mohammad said their ultimate goal is to honour the country’s dead and accord them a respectful farewell according to the teachings of Islam. ”We work under the motto: Let us honour the dead and give them a decent resting place,’’ he told Sudanow, in an interview.
He said they also managed to procure a lot of earth-moving vehicles that have now rid the public the trouble of hand-work in grave-digging. “ A grave preparation that used to take over three hours in the past is now done in no time, thanks to this machinery, ’’ he said.
The Organization continued to hold regular seminars and teaching courses to propagate knowledge about body preparation for burial and burial rites according to the teachings of Islam. Scholar Mohammad Ahmad Hassan conducts regular courses around Khartoum State where the learners get first-hand knowledge about how to behave when a loved-one dies. The participants, in their turn, communicate that knowledge to the public in their respective neighbourhoods.

Graves digging
Graves digging
Fencing
Fencing


The charity’s Secretary General further added that their activity had now transcended to some other regions of the country that include the states of Jazeera, Gedarif, Kasala, Elneel al-Abiad (White Nile), Nahr Elneel (River Nile) and the Red Sea.
He said they have also concluded a partnership with the National Military Service whereby the latter helps with recruits to work in the different cemeteries. Their job is to keep a round-the-clock register of the dead and promptly file it to the concerned authorities via a special SMS programme. This effort is part of the government strategy to monitor the exact number of deaths in the country.
The organization receives donations from the public. It has also managed to launch its own endowments and, further, receives ‘’openhanded’’ disbursements from the government, according to the Secretary General.
He said like any new idea his organization was received with suspicion at its initial stages. ”Some people had accused us of introducing a new thing apart from the traditional burial traditions, but when they understood our objectives and saw what we were doing , they came to our help,’’ he said.
He also spoke about the wonders they came across when the need arose to remove some graves to give way for new construction projects. He said bodies buried for long periods of time were found not to have decomposed. ”In 2004 when there was need to remove some graves in Burri cemetery in East Khartoum to give room for part of the Menshiyya Bridge, we came across some bodies which were nearly complete even though they were buried a very long time ago,’’ he said. “And when we traced the history of those noble persons, we found that they were of good demeanor ‘’ he added.
Moslem scholars active within the charity encourage the public to lead a life of piety in order to guarantee a happy life in the hereafter.

They remind Moslems how the Kora’an enjoins the faithful to fear Allah the Almighty, strive to keep the faith and die as true Moslems.

Provision of water and bricks
Provision of water and bricks
DSC08550

They also cite The Prophet Mohammad’s revelation that whoever dies as an obedient Moslem is sure to secure a happy life in the hereafter. The Prophet, Allah’s Peace be Upon Him, said angels stand beside an obedient Moslem in his time of death and reveal to him the good destiny that awaits him in the hereafter.
The Prophet also cited signs of such a good fate that appear at the time of death. These include that when a Moslem dies on Friday, dies in the defense of or propagation of Islam, when his last words are :There is no god but Allah, dies immediately after presenting a charity , dies in or immediately after prayer and dies during or immediately after a day’s fasting.
The Prophet also cited signs of martyrdom. They are: death in the course of defending Islam and defending one’s self, one’s money and one’s family, a woman’s death during pregnancy and labour, death because of plague and death because of pain in the stomach, a Moslem who drowns or is buried under the wreckage of a collapsing building is also a martyr.
Rectitude, righteousness , trust in the divine providence, piety, truthfulness , repentance from sins , obedience of Allah , keeping death in perpetual memory and fear from a bad and sinful ending are sure guarantees of happiness in the hereafter.

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YH/ AS

Sudanow is the longest serving English speaking magazine in the Sudan. It is chartarized by its high quality professional journalism, focusing on political, social, economic, cultural and sport developments in the Sudan. Sudanow provides in depth analysis of these developments by academia, highly ...

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