Question Summary:
When a person dies, what should be done & avoid before his / her burial as you know that there are lots of wrong doings & concepts live amount Asian Muslims???

Question Detail:

When a person dies, what should be done & avoid before his / her burial as you know that there are lots of wrong doings & concepts live amount Asian Muslims??? Clearly explain all such acts which are allowed & forbidden in Islam after death & before burial of one person?? Also, what Islam says about the widow when her husband dies??

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
 
1) When a person passes away, the arrangements for the ghusl, kafan, and burial should be made immediately. After the ghusl and enshrouding of the deceased, the salat of janazah must be performed. Finally, the burial must take place. All of these expenses will be from the wealth of the deceased person.
It is also important to distribute the wealth of the deceased person after the following steps are taken (with his wealth):
a)      The funeral expenses must be taken care of
b)      His debts must be paid off
c)      If up to 1/3 of his wealth was bequeathed, it must be distributed
d)     The remaining wealth will be divided amongst the heirs
 
For a detailed explanation of the abovementioned steps after a person passes away, please refer to Bahishti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments), Volume 1, Pages 236-256 (Published by ZamZam Academy) by Hadrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Rahimahullah).
 
This great work by Shaykh is highly informative and gives a step-by-step explanation of what should be fulfilled from the time one passes away up to the burial. If these steps are taken, InshaAllah the various innovations which exist today will be avoided.
 
2) When the husband passes away, the woman immediately begins her iddah period, which in the case of the husband’s death is four lunar months and ten days. After this period ends, she will be free to re-marry elsewhere.
 
وبعد موت الزوج يلزمها أربعة أشهر وعشر
(Raddul Muhtar)
 
( قوله وللموت أربعة أشهر وعشر ) أي : عدة المتوفى عنها زوجها بعد نكاح صحيح إذا كانت حرة أربعة أشهر وعشرة أيام لقوله تعالى { والذين يتوفون منكم ويذرون أزواجا يتربصن بأنفسهن أربعة أشهر وعشرا }
(Al-Bahrul Raaiq)
 
And Allah knows best
Wassalamu Alaikum
Ml. Asif Umar,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah