It is not uncommon to hear of traditional worshippers claiming the right to the corpse of a dead Muslim about to be buried in Yoruba land. They often claim he was secretly a member of their heathen order and that throws the Muslim Jamaa’ah into confusion and division as some reject their claim and others think they wouldn’t have come for him if he wasn’t truly with them.
We seem to forget that even a living Muslim who displays the signs of Kufr must not be declared a Kaafir until the proof is established against him to eliminate the twin possibilities of him acting under duress or not having had proper schooling to know the gravity of what he fell into.
If the scholars say this much precaution must be taken with the living-who can lie-before declaring him a Kaafir, how much more is needed with the dead who cannot defend himself?
The disbelievers claiming the dead Muslim are not dependable (thiqaat) no matter what proof they show us since we cannot rule out duress and the man is dead. It is worse if the claim is made by the Jinn as it often happens in ruqyah (exorcism) sessions. Who is a bigger liar than Kaafir jins?
If we must surrender such a corpse, let it only be because we are too weak to fight the cause through, but tongues must not wag over the Islam of our brother if Allah covered him to his death!
Murtala Alade Adedokun, Islamic Cleric and a teacher.
