Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Iman Funeral Support and Bereavement Scheme is a contributory scheme established by Al – Iman Society of Northamptonshire in order to provide support during the time of death for Muslims of Northamptonshire. It is a mutual aid scheme where members contribute to a common pool with the purpose of sharing each other’s burdens.

It was established in 2004

It is a preparation for the inevitable. If there is one thing in life that we will all be afflicted with at some stage in our lives, it is the death of a family member, relative or a friend. The average cost of a funeral in the UK is estimated to be around £2,800.00 which may come as quite a shock and surprise to some Muslims at the time when it is required to bury our loved ones. Allah (Subhaanahu wata’ala) says in the Qur’aan "Every Soul shall taste Death "(21:35)

The scheme was also set up to facilitate early burial of the deceased and thus adopting the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

The main objective of this scheme is to provide all the necessary help required in arranging and supporting remaining family members and relatives also making sure that the deceased body will be taken care of according to the correct Islamic principles. The point here is to make sure complete service is delivered and compliance of our Islamic principles is also adhered to.

These funds also cater for funerals to our Muslim brothers and sisters in the event of their death if they have left no next of kin and have made no funeral preparation.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ reminded every Muslim to prepare for his/her death. According to Islamic principles the cost of the funeral should be borne by the Muslim himself/herself provided He/she is able to do so and will be deducted from his/her wealth before the inheritance procedures. These costs in Islam must be recovered from the deceases property and will be deemed as outstanding provided the deceased has left any wealth behind

It works upon mutual support where contributing member undertakes to donate £5.00 per month as Tabarru’u (donations) should any of his/her family members living in the same households passes away, available funds on the pool will be used to cover the cost under the purpose of sharing each other’s burden.

And if death does not occur to contributing member or to family member, these contributions will be used to cover the funeral costs of other contributing members for the same purpose of sharing each other’s burden.

The underlying point here every contributor must understand is that the help offered by means of contribution is CHARITY.

Because whatever we are donating will be used for the good cause and we need to have a clear intention (Niyyah) that this act is done in order to regain multiple rewards from Allah and adopting the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ who said, ‘“Whoever helps a believer with a hardship from the hardships of this life, Allah will help him with a hardship from the hardships of the Day of Resurrection. (Bukhaari and Muslim).

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also said “And Allah Will continue to aid the servant as long as the servant aids his brother.” (Bukhaari and Muslim).

To become a contributing member of Al-Iman Funeral and Bereavement scheme Fund,

• You must be a resident of Northamptonshire.

• You must complete application form together with your first annual contribution.

• You will be required to fill in details of all family members living in the same household.

• You will be required to fill in details of all dependants[1] not living in the same household.

• You will be required to fill in standing order form as well.[2]

[1] Recognized dependants are father, mother, son, daughter, wife or husband.

[2] Contributions are only acceptable via direct debit or standing order mandate.

All contributing members are entitled to:

• Full support and help for the deceased family from the time of death up to the point of burial and beyond.

• Ensuring the body is washed/cleansed, shrouded, the funeral prayer is performed and finally buried according to Islamic procedures.

• Support towards or full cover of funeral costs to not cause any burden to the deceased’s family in cases of financial difficulty.

• Counselling services before, during and after burial to the family/relatives of the deceased.

This fund will only cover the funeral services of

• Contributor

• Spouse of the Contributor

• Children of the Contributor (all in the guardianship of the contributor under the age of 18 years old)

• Parents of the Contributor if all the above are in the UK and live in the same household.

No. The funeral and bereavement Scheme will not cover these expenses, but the contributor will be entitled to one off payment of £200.00 provided a family member is as per Q12 above.

No, these funds are only used for the purpose which they were established only. They are not being used for any purposes. Special measures have been put in place to ensure that the fund is used only for helping in the funeral arrangement of a deceased person. Any excess donations will be utilised back into the Bereavement and Funeral Scheme account.

Any Muslim resident in Northamptonshire county

Due to operational and logistic reasons, it is not possible to extend these services to other counties at present.

Yes. The scheme does not provide any help with overseas transportation of bodies, medical costs or help with inheritance procedures. It only covers the funeral costs only if the burial will be done in England.

Because it is against the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who said to hasten the Janaazah (burial). The process also requires embalming of the body to be undertaken to preserve the body which according to our learned scholars is not acceptable.

If a contributor wants to withdraw and opt out from the funeral support and bereavement fund scheme, He/she can do so anytime by giving formal notice in writing of his/her decision. However, contributor will not be entitled to any refund as these funds have been given out as donations. Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) said “Do not take back what you have given in charity”. (Sahih Bukhaari, Vol.2, Hadith. 566)"

Al Iman Funeral and bereavement scheme will not be involved; however, this case scenario will be dealt with our Al – Iman Funeral Services which provides these facilities at relatively very low cost for other residents who have not joined the bereavement scheme.

Funeral and Bereavement scheme hotline: 07490 685119

Please use this number to inform the scheme any matters related to death, funeral, bereavement and advice.

Or alternatively you can call emergency contact 07961 284919

A Yes. you will be liable for the arrears from the time you stopped contributing and special arrangement will be set to clear the outstanding arrears.

Generally these funds will cover the cost of funeral within the UK only as that is the reason why they have been established. However, if the contributor or one of the qualified persons passes away outside the UK, the basic and necessary expenses of funeral services will be covered by the Fund.

If one of the contributors left the household then these will be considered as two separate households and must contribute separately.

Yes. This is the responsibility of the contributor for example a new born baby, child turned 18, parent moved in, divorce etc.

Your membership will still be valid for a period of time subject to availabiity. But We will recommend joining a similar scheme if available in the area you have relocated.

No. You cannot join our scheme if you have enrolled in a similar scheme elsewhere as both serves the same purpose and may raise conflict of interest as to which scheme takes responsibility in case of death.