A Young Penggapai’s Story: “It made me realise that, one day, I’ll be in the same position too”
Whenever we run Legacy Matters workshops, we made it a point to hear the stories of those present. During the recent Islamic Funeral workshop, we met a young man who showed extensive knowledge and experience in the fields of Jenazah arrangement.
Ak Fathurrahman is currently studying ‘Judiciary Syariah’ in Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA). He is also part of the Ar-Razaq’s team — a Muslim funeral service provider under Al-Huffaz Management. At a young age, he has been training to become a “Penggapai” — an appointed person who cleans the body of the deceased before burial.
We had a quick chat with him after the workshop, where he shared his views and experience of his training as a penggapai.
Full of curiosity and the open-mindedness to try new things, his sincere story and outlook on the Islamic funeral field are eye-opening to us. As you read on, we hope you would find it so, too.
“My first funeral was at dawn where I did not know anything at all about funeral management.”
Memori: First off, what is a penggapai to you?
Ak. Fathurrahman: What I know is that a penggapai is someone who is in charge of funeral services, from preparing the essentials for funeral to bathing the deceased as well as the ‘kafan’ (shrouding).
A penggapai has to be someone trustworthy who will respect the dignity and privacy of the deceased.
Memori: How did you know about being a penggapai and how did you get involved?
Ak. Fathurrahman: At the age of 17, I was training as a Pelapis Imam (someone who takes over the Imam’s role when the Imam is unavailable) at Masjid Pulaie, where I heard a lot about being a penggapai from the seniors. The discussion made me think a lot about the ‘what ifs’ in life, and so I decided to learn it in order to prepare myself.
Memori: Do you have any personal reason to become a penggapai?
Ak. Fathurrahman: My main goal is that when it comes to my parents or my siblings, I can perform the funeral arrangement for them.
My senior, Hj Japrin, once asked me why I wanted to do this: Many people at my age are not keen on learning about funeral arrangement.
I answered him, “If anything were to happen to my cousins, my uncle, or relatives, then I can say that I am able to do it for them.”
Memori: What’s your first experience as a penggapai like?
Ak. Fathurrahman: It was the next day after the conversation with Hj Japrin; he brought me along to a funeral at dawn.
At that time, I did not know anything at all about funeral management. I asked him if it would be difficult, but he reassured me. So I kept my mind clear and just performed according to his instructions.
“It is rare to hear people at my age being involved in the funeral process”
Memori: How is it so far with your experience as a penggapai?
Ak. Fathurrahman: In the period of eight months, I participated in more than 10 funeral arrangements. But you cannot master the process by only doing it once: Not all preparations are the same as there are different difficulties and problems.
For myself, I would like to learn more as I considered myself still inexperienced, such as the handling of a burnt or mutilated body.
Memori: What do you hope to see in the future?
Ak. Fathurrahman: I just want to see the youth of our generation be brave enough to learn the process of Islamic funeral arrangement, because we won’t know if there will be anyone available to manage our family’s funeral.
While you are here…
Why don’t you check out what Memori have in store for the month? Legacy Matters workshops are designed to educate people on preparing for their legacy at different stages of life.
We equip you with the know-how and resources required to navigate through the maze of life to reach your end goals — be that starting a family, achieving childhood dreams, retirement, old age, or even end of life.
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Written by:
Izaaz Syazwi — Part of Memori’s Digital Marketing team. Experienced in marketing. Copywriting and content creation. Izaaz’s favourite philosopher is Socrates.
Li En Ru — Project Lead at Memori. Content writer with 3 years of experience in copywriting and research. Formerly associate editor at Borneo Bulletin in Brunei. En Ru’s favourite food is this sticky stuff called Ambuyat.