Funeral services now in four languages in UAE

Sharjah - Any nationality can access the service on social media platforms.

The free funeral announcement service in Sharjah and Ajman will soon be made available in four languages, said a group, which launched a first of its kind initiative on social media.
The group, Sharjah and Ajman Funeral Announcements and Support Services, said any nationality can access the service on social media platforms using the web-handle @Janaza_uae.
 
The service includes announcement of the death of a person, information about the funeral, burial procedures as well as repatriation of the body.
 
The group said they would receive information about the deaths from various sources such as mosques, hospitals, corpse washers, police, among many others.
 
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Abu Anas, one of the founders of Sharjah and Ajman Funeral Announcements and Support Services, said: "We use all kinds of social media platforms to post the funeral news and related information. We also post the links of the mosque, cemetery locations and also provide awareness on how people can line up in the graveyard to offer and receive condolences."
 
Besides Arabic, the service will soon be available in English, Urdu and Malayalam, common languages being used by non-Arab residents of Sharjah and Ajman.
 
Qassim Ahmed Al Murshedi, one of the founders, said he expanded the services to announce wedding and various happy events. "Many people call me to find the location of the funeral or wedding events, and I never hesitate to guide them."
 
Al Murshedi added that he has more than 20,000 followers who receive the information on the deceased in the country including the deceased's name, family, site of condolence, burial time and prayers for both men and women.
 
"I have immense help from people, who were keen to communicate with me, to support the family of the deceased."
 
Al Morshedi added that they wanted to announce the death of the prominent personalities but they do not have the official status to do so.
 
"I announce 20 to 30 deaths from various emirates in a month," he said.
 
Al Murshedi said they also take the initiative to help the family of the deceased to complete the formalities of burial and issuance of the death certificates. He added that there were times they had received guests on behalf of the family of the deceased who could not handle the guests as they were in utter shock of the death of a dear one.
 
The group also facilitates arrangements for VIPs who express keenness to attend a funeral or offer condolences.
 
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com      

• UAE
• Sharjah
• Ajman