PESHAWAR – Pakistani doctor bathed and leads funeral prayers of coronavirusdead patient when clerics refused to do so out of fear.
A doctor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Dr. Hafiz Sanaullah, is being hailedas a hero after he bathed a coronavirus patient’s body, led his funeralprayers and burial after religious leaders refused to do so.
In Muslim societies, the responsibility of bathing (Islamic ritual ofghusl) a dead body and leading his funeral prayers lies with religiousclerics, but in this case, no one agreed to even come close to the body dueto the fear of the virus.
Dr. Sanaullah is treating COVID-19 patients at a government-run hospital inBesham, Shangla district of KP.
According to him, the hospital management approached a local cleric for hisfuneral proceedings, he refused, suggesting the doctor should do thathimself.
Dr. Sanaullah said that the patient had come from a far-flung area fortreatment. Unfortunately, the person lost the battle, and that he had nochoice but to perform his last rituals.
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To a question, Dr. Sanaullah said that being a hafiz, he was aware of theprocedure, so it wasn’t a problem.
I led the funeral prayers and was joined by local paramedics as well ashospital staffers.
He highlighted that he had attended a UNICEF workshop in the past so he wasaware of how to perform the last rites of an infected person.
“After bathing it, I wrapped the body in a plastic sheet and placed it inthe coffin, Dr. Sana said,” adding that Dr. Sana said that he himself laidhim to the rest.
