To be a ghasalan is to be ‘called’

To be a ghasalan is to be ‘called’

She took to the profession of bathing dead bodies out of passion. She is one among the numerous ghasalans (corpse bathers) in the city who believe the deceased deserve a decent farewell, says Ayesha Tabassum

    There should be no delay in
    preparing the body, i.e. washing,
    shrouding and burial of the deceased,
    supported by the Prophet’s
    (PBUH) instruction,
    “Hasten the funeral rites.”
    (Collected in all six books
    of Hadith: Sahih Al-Bukhari,
    Vol 2, Pg 255, #401)
    It was 2.30 am. The moon was still and bright. The night, silent. A group of people came calling. 36-year-old Zarin Taj, an Arabic teacher, and mother of four was fast asleep. But she was prepared for theknockonthedoor.Sheknew'they' would come and people like them would keep coming....till the end of herlife.Forshehadchosenthispath.It was her calling in life.
    The people who knocked were from the house of a young woman. Some time during the placid night, when the world was busy, she had succumbed to burn injuries sustained during an accident in her home. According to her faith she had to be buried before the morning light. And that cannot happen without Taj -a ghasalan(corpse-bather).
    “I cannot forget her,” recalls Taj. It was her first ‘call’ as an independent ghasalan.Though she had worked as an apprentice for five years earlier and was well-versed in the ritualistic bathing of the deceased, she was anxious. “In the early morning hours, I was slowly moving her limbs so that water could touch every inch of the body.” She remembers clearly the skin that was peeling off the body; the mother of the dead woman who refused to touch the lifeless body of her owndaughter. She remembers the dead woman’s missing fingers - “Index and middle finger of the right hand”. It took her one and a half hours to prepare the deceased for her final journey. “I don’t know how I got the courage to stand strong and handle the body,” says Taj who remembers well the “eerie silence at that hour of the day. But I knew God had blessed me with courage. Once I completed the ritual,Iwassatisfiedandtherewassubtle happiness – I could do this job and I knew I was meant for it.”
    It has been four years since that “first assignment”. Taj has bathed more than 500 deceased Muslim women in Chikmagalur and Bangalore where she moved in two years ago and was appointed a ghasalan by the Basavanagudi mosque.
THE BEGINNING It all started in 2004 in Chikmagalur. Taj was an Arabic teacher, married to Syed Usman, also an Arabic teacher. (Now,he also does the odd painting jobs). She was inspired by her neighbour Sabira Bi, a ghasalan for close to 30years.“Iusedtoobserveherwithinterest because she was an old lady who lived alone,” recalls Taj. “Though she had kids, she preferred to stay all by herself because of her ‘duty’. Sabira Bi’s devotion to her duty is what enchantedme.”BeinganArabicteacher, Taj says she was aware of the importance of bathing corpses, according to the Holy Book. “I decided to help Sabira Bi. It wasn’t for money.”
    Taj began to accompany Bi whenever she went to bathe a corpse. “Sabira aapa was a true mentor and for five years I worked under her. She was very happy.” Taj never took a stipend or asked for a share of Bi's earnings.
    The decision to become a corpse batherwasnotaneasyoneforTaj.But, it was not difficult either.
    “My mother has been a ghasalan
for nearly 30 years,” says her husband Usman. So when Taj asked him if she could be one, it did come as a surprise. “I was a bit apprehensive about her takingthisupasaprofession.Itisn’tan easy job. I knew she could be called at any time of the day. But then I realised she was doing it for the sake of God. She wanted to serve those (the dead) who really needed her. I did not want her to earn any money. I was earning enough and we were satisfied. But she insisted that she wanted to do it because of her interest, so I supported her.” Usman accompanied Taj on her first assignment four years ago and brought her back home just after day break. “Even to this day, I cannot sleep when she is called for a funeral that’s early in the morning. She has to bathe the body before the morning prayers. If the deceased’s family members are coming to pick her up, then there must be women in the group. Else I can’tlethergo.Butsofar,womenhave always accompanied her.”
THE GHUSAL (THE BATH) When the news of the death in the family is announced, the first thing to do is to recite the verse from the Quran (2:156): Inna lil-laahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon. (Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return).
    ‘The return’ has to be hastened. Thefuneralcannotwaitformaximum number of people to gather. “That’s a big responsibility. That is my biggest fear – that I should not be delayed. My delay will cause the funeral to be delayed,” says Taj.
    When she receives a call, the first thing she does is pray to God to help her perform the duty. She then rushes to complete her responsibility irrespective of the time of the day. Kept ready for her are: Ittar (natural scents), surma, soap, Reetha seeds, gloves, two pieces of cloth measuring 2.5mt X 2.5mt, two large bath towels, camphor,Abirpowder,onechatayee(straw mat) and a coffin cloth that is one foot longer at both ends . “I am not supposed to touch the body with bare hands.That’swhathasbeenwrittenin the Bihishti Zevar (A woman’s jewel), the book that is the encyclopedia about women’s rituals and services. I wear gloves and my work starts.”
    What some might consider an unclean chore, Taj has voluntarily accepted it as her calling. “The body should not have any trace of feces and urine,”shesays.Shescrubsthestillhuman, slowly and meticulously; water is poured on the stomach and “the body is made to sit three times, so that all the contents of the stomach and intestine come out. And I clean, again, thoroughly.” She also pours camphor water and makes the deceased do their last wudu (ablution). “Nobody likes to bestaredatwhentheyarenaked,”says Taj. “I am sure they wouldn't want it even after they are dead.” She sees them, but doesn't look. All through the ritualistic bathing Taj prays for the “after-life of the deceased. The dead person was once alive and now is lying helpless waiting to be bathed, that’s when dua keeps coming to my lips. I just pray that God makes their life after death easy,” she says. Finally, sherecitesanArabicversetopurifythe body. She ties their hair, sprinkles Abir (a mehendi green powder with pungent smell) and rubs camphorwateronthesoles,ankles,palms, elbows, nose and forehead – parts of the body that touch the floor during prostration when offering namaaz. Then two pieces of cloth are wrapped aroundthebodyandthecoffinclothis covered over it.
    “Notevenonestrandofhaircanbe visible. Extra cloth is left at the waist so that it is easy to lower them into the grave,” says Taj. But the ghasalan’s job doesn’t end here. After all those gathered have seen the corpse for the last time, she covers the face and ties a cloth around it.
    Taj returns home with the bath towels and two pieces of cloth and the hadya (payment): Rs.200-500. She bathes,andoffersnamaz.“IaskGodto forgive me if the body was hurt or the soulfelttroubledbecauseofthemovements during the entire procedure. I ask Him to forgive me if I had missed anything or had made a mistake.”
A PROFESSION FOR PASSION “In Bangalore, there are about 300-400 mosques,” says Mohd Maqsood ImranRashadi,Khateeb–o–Imam,Jamia Masjid of Bangalore. A few of them appointghasalans for a monthly salary of Rs 3,000-4,000.” But some ghasalans are not attached to the mosque. However, whether appointed by the mosque or not, a ghasalan has to inform the authorities before going to the deceased’s house. “We need to get a slip of permission from the mosque because at times it could alsobeapolicecase.Sothemosqueauthorities need to know where we are going,” says Taj. Women take up this work not because it is a family tradition, but because they feel it’s their calling -like Taj.
    Though a challenging job, most of the ghasalans believe this is the path to please the Almighty. “The (dead) person is helpless. When we dress her in the coffin, we believe that Allah will dress us ghasalans with clothes in heaven. This is the satisfaction that keepsmegoing,”saysTaj.Nowher23-year-old daughter Heena Kauser too is following her mother’s footsteps. She started accompanying her mother when she was just 19-years-old. “I have helped my mother with 25 cases sofar,”saysHeena.“Theveryfirsttime Iwentwaswhenourneighbourpassed away. I was uncomfortable to touch the corpse initially....but now I am not.” The mother has been mentoring her daughter and is confident Heena can manage.
    “Just in case I am not able to go, I want her to be ready. Anybody can needus...atanytime,”saysTaj.Shebelieves that every corpse deserves a good bath before their final journey and she is willing to give them one as it is her calling in life.

Syed Usman (R) was anxious about his wife Taj (L) becoming a ghasalan, but he supported her

courtesy: Times of india

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