Dates/Times: February 24 (3-8pm) and February 25 (9am-5pm)
Location: Online Course
Instructor: Maryam Sharrieff
Registration Deadline: Sunday, February 12

This course will cover death and dying from an Islamic perspective. We will review how to care for a Muslim patient at the time of their transition and all consequent matters. Muslims place great importance on the preparation for death, dying and the afterlife. As we prepare for the inevitable reality of death, and the accompanying pain and loss, we will learn how best to support and serve a deceased Muslim, their family and community members during this time. This workshop will prepare chaplains, religious leaders, and community members on how to perform the Islamic rites and rituals of death. We will cover: actions to take when death is imminent; actions to take at the time of death and who to contact; rights of the deceased; ghusl (ritual washing for the deceased) and shrouding of the body; janaza (Muslim funeral prayer); etiquette of mourning the deceased; will writing and debt satisfaction; and cultural traditions vs. religious obligations.

Course Registration

Ustadha Maryam Sharrieff is an educator, filmmaker, lecturer, linguist, researcher and student of the development of Islam in America. Her recent research projects have examined the African-American Shi’i Muslim Community, Latino Converts to Islam in America, the Legacy of Female Scholarship in Islam and Gender & Its Linguistic Implications in the Qur’an and Torah. Maryam’s research interests also include the Muslim Contribution to Sicilian Society, the Representation of Faith In (& On) film, Homosexuality in Canonical Texts, American Muslim Women’s Leadership, Fundamentalism Across Faiths and America’s Founding Father’s Interactions with the Muslim World. Most recently she presented on Muslim women’s leadership at the World Parliament of Religion’s conference in Sydney, Australia, Salt Lake City and at the annual international Shaykafest. From 2012-2014 she was a Muslim fellow for Hebrew College’s and Andover Newton Theological School’s CIRCLE (Center for Inter-Religious and Communal Leadership Education) program. Recently, she presented on Muslim Women’s Comic Book Heroes at the United Kingdom’s University of Derby’s Muslim Women’s Activism conference. Ustadha Maryam teaches for rabata.org and serves as an adjunct professor. She is dedicated to building and contributing to institutions conducive to the pursuit of human excellence. Sharrieff received her Bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies/Italian/TV & Film from Rutgers University and obtained her Master’s in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Presently, Maryam is a doctoral student at Teachers College-Columbia University. She currently resides in the Boston area and serves as a University Muslim Chaplain.