Aligarh: There has always been an atmosphere of fear, mystery and curiosity (curiosity to know) in the minds of people regarding the cemetery. Various kinds of rumors spread everywhere especially about going there at night. Some say that strange noises are heard there at night, while others believe that it is dangerous to go to the cemetery at night. But do any mysterious incidents really happen in the cemetery? Is this just an illusion or is there any religious reason for it?
We tried to get to the bottom of this mystery and asked the Chief Mufti of Uttar Pradesh, Maulana Chaudhary Ifrahim Hussain, about the real Islamic principles of visiting cemeteries at night and the reality of fear.
silence of night and atmosphere of fear
Maulana Ifrahim Hussain says that there are many misconceptions and fears in the minds of common people regarding cemeteries at night. Whereas, there is no prohibition in Islam to go to the cemetery. The cemetery can be visited during the day as well as at night. People often think that it is dangerous to go there at night or that strange incidents happen there, but this is only the effect of illusion and atmosphere.
Maulana said, ‘Due to darkness, silence and lack of light at night, fear naturally arises. If the leaves of trees or plants move, or a cat or dog makes noise, the mind immediately considers it as a scary sound. This is why people often assume that some unusual event is happening there, whereas in reality nothing like this happens.
Dead people don’t speak, fear is just a mind game
Maulana says that there is no such principle in Islam that dead people speak, scare or do any kind of mysterious incidents. The sounds coming from the cemetery are just natural sounds, which people mistake for something else due to fear. The notion that evil or mysterious incidents occur in cemeteries at night is completely false and based on rumours. He stressed that it is completely permissible to go to the cemetery at night.
difference between real fear and illusion
He told that there are certain etiquettes of going to the cemetery – like being clean, it is better to go after performing ablution, and after reaching the cemetery, offer salam. The scary things related there are just myths and rumours. The silence of the cemetery at night and the slight rustling in the air – all this has a psychological effect on the mind. People think of these small signs as big scary events. So the next time someone says that it is dangerous to go to the cemetery at night, understand this – it is just a myth and rumour, not reality.
