POCATELLO — Many cultures came together last Thursday to honor and celebrate the life of Col. Mohammad G. Rahim, father of Pocatello doctors Fahim and Naeem Rahim.
Many in Pocatello are unfamiliar with Islamic tradition. The Rahim family understood that and shared their beliefs and customs with the colonel’s friends and family.
Born in Hyderabad, India, on June 29, 1929, the senior Rahim moved to Pakistan in 1949 and later retired from his military career with the rank of colonel in the Pakistan Army. Col. Rahim then moved to Chicago, and roughly four months ago, moved to Pocatello, where he resided with his sons.
The Muslim faith considers death a transition from one state of matter to another, not as an ending of life. They believe actions follow you to the afterlife, so following your faith and living a good life means rewards after death, where you will be separated from all the ugliness in the world.
However, they also believe if you live a dishonest and rough life, you will be separated from the beauty of the world.
Keeping with Islamic tradition, specific rites and rituals were observed in the care, the preparation and the burial of the Col. Rahim. He was bathed and wrapped in white cotton, known as the kafan, by his family. They tended to him with love and respect.
A Celebration of Life was held at the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center rotunda on the Idaho State University campus with visitation, funeral prayers and a Janzah Processional to the burial site. Though traditional Islamic funerals don’t often use outside services to manage the ceremonies, the Rahim family embraced the help of their neighbor and friend, Bob Cornelison, and the Cornelison Funeral Home.
Although people had traveled halfway across the world and nation to participate in this ceremony, there were no strangers in the group. Everyone was grateful to be part of the celebration and humbled by the experience.
Prayers and poems delivered from the heart. Fahim and Naeem, two of the colonel’s sons, lead the group in prayer and custom. They thoughtfully shared with the guests of mixed faith and culture the meanings of the rituals and words.
The funeral procession was led by the hearse and family members and trailed by friends and other mourners. The procession ended at the Mountain view Cemetery. There, the pallbearers carried the casket, to the final resting place. Again, in following with tradition, the family carried out an Ibadat, or prayer service, to honor their father. They then gently removed his body from the coffin and placed it in a burial box, making sure to position his body so it faced towards Mecca, the holy center of Islam.
The body was then lowered into the ground and friends and family covered it with dirt in a final act of respect and honorable regard. Condolences were shared with the family members and guests, and the grave was covered.
This was the first public Muslim funeral service performed in Pocatello. And though there were several faiths and belief systems in attendance, everyone understood this funeral, symbolic of the Muslim faith, was indeed a celebration of life.