E-Paper
Sign In
How one Janazah appeal brought hundreds of strangers to a UAE funeral
Volunteer account asked residents to "be her family and brothers" after a Sudanese expat died giving birth to twins, and thousands turned up
- PUBLISHED: Wed 30 Sept 2026, 6:00 AM UPDATED: Wed 30 Sept 2026, 1:11 PM
A volunteer-run social media account that shares funeral notices across the UAE helped bring hundreds of strangers to the funeral of a woman they had never met, after asking residents to “be her family and brothers”.
Janaza UAE, also known as Janaiz Al Emarat, posted the time and place of the funeral prayer for Sudanese expat Marwa, who died while giving birth to twins, leaving behind her newborns and husband.
Recommended For You
The account’s owner, Abdullah Hussein Al Marzouqi, said he runs the service himself and that it covers funerals in all emirates.
Death notices reach the account from the family of the deceased or from relatives. Nothing is posted until the report is checked.
“A lot of rumours reach us,” Al Marzouqi said. “We do not publish until we have verified that the news is true.”
The aim, he said, is to share the time and location of the funeral prayer so the largest possible number of people can attend.
He also wants the service in every home, even if only one person in the household follows it. Sometimes, he said, people only learn that a relative has died because the account posted it.
From a notice to a packed funeral
On Friday morning, Janaza UAE posted the details of Marwa’s funeral and told residents that she had no family in the country except her husband.
“She has no family here except her husband. Be her family and brothers,” the appeal said.
Hours later, hundreds of people from across the UAE turned up at Al Qusais Cemetery Mosque in Dubai after Asr prayers.
Marwa's friend Aya said the family was blown away by the support the community showed them.
"The prayer hall was so full that some people were praying outside," she said. “People came from different emirates. Many were people who read it on the news. We really felt like Marwa was so blessed that the whole UAE became her family.”
There was heavy traffic towards the mosque. Cars were parked on one side of the E11 highway as people made their way in to join the funeral prayers.
Even an hour after the prayer, people kept flowing into the cemetery and the mosque to pay their respects.
'Felt compelled to come'
Syrian expat Marwa Mohammed drove to Dubai from Abu Dhabi to attend the funeral.
“When I read the message that she died giving birth to twins and she had the same name as me, I just felt compelled to come,” she said. “I left the house at around 1pm because I wanted to beat the traffic. I arrived at the cemetery around 3pm and then sat there praying for her.”
Indian expat Bilal arrived almost an hour after the prayer was over but still made his way to the mosque.
“I came straight from work and I thought I would reach on time but there was so much traffic to get to the graveyard that it took me 45 minutes to cover 1.5 kilometres,” he said.
“I usually try to attend funeral prayers regularly but seldom is it so crowded. I watched the ambulance with her body whizz past me on the hard shoulder as I sat in traffic. I briefly considered following the ambulance on the hard shoulder but I felt it would be disrespectful to her memory.”
Bilal did not know Marwa or her family.
“I knew that even if she didn’t have many relatives, the UAE community would show up as her family,” he said. “I also wanted to come as a brother to this woman to let those who she left behind know that they are never alone in this country.”
'Be her family and brothers'
Aya clarified that Marwa did have two sisters in the UAE. She said the three sisters lost their parents a few years ago and did not have any male blood relatives.
“Marwa was really a beautiful soul,” she said. “I cannot believe she is gone.”
She added that the newborns were in the care of Marwa's sister right now. “God willing, she will continue to care for Marwa’s children like her own,” she said.
Al Marzouqi said he advises everyone to attend any other janazah prayers as there is great reward in praying for the deceased.
Ruqayya Alqaydi is an associate editor with an endless curiosity to learn. Like a journalist on a caffeine overdrive, she is fuelled by passion and on a mission to uncover every gem in the UAE.