Q 1: a) What is the ruling on a man who bequeathed to be buried in a coffin?B) A Muslim who was a Mason died. The Islamic Funeral Prayer was observed for him followed by the rites of Freemasonry. What is the Islamic ruling on this dead person and on those who performed these rites or allowed them to be performed?C) What is Freemasonry? What is the Islamic ruling regarding it?

A: a) Placing the deceased in a coffin was an unknown practice at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) or the time of the Sahabah (the Companions of the Prophet - may Allah be pleased with them). It is better for Muslims to follow the path of the Prophet and his Companions. Hence, it is reprehensible to place the deceased in a coffin, whether the ground is hard, soft, or wet. If the deceased left a will to be placed in a coffin, those wills should not be carried out. According to the Shafi`y School, it is permissible to bury the dead in coffins, if the burial ground is soft or wet. Consequently, the above mentioned bequest should not be carried out except in such cases. (b and c) Freemasonry is a secret political society whose goal is to put an end to all religions and good morals and replace them with man-made laws (Part No. 2; Page No. 441) and non-religious systems. It strives to provoke ongoing revolutions and replace one regime with another, under the cover of calling for freedom of thought, opinion, and belief. This is supported by what was announced by one of them in the Students' Conference held in 1865 A.D. in the city of Liège which is considered to be one of the centers of Freemasonry. He stated, "Man must prevail over God and declare war on Him. He should demolish the heavens and tear them apart like paper." In the Masonic Grand Lodge (1922/ p. 98), it is stated, "We shall strengthen the liberty of conscience through all powers we have and declare war on the real enemy of man, which is religion."Moreover, the Masons say, "Freemasonry takes the human soul as its object of worship." It is reported in Minutes of the World Masonic Conference, 1903 A.D., p. 102, "It is not enough for us to prevail over the religious people and their places of worship, rather our basic goal is to wipe them out of existence." They also say, "Freemasonry will replace religion and its Lodges will replace the places of worship …" There are many other statements that reveal their adamant enmity and uncompromising war against religions. The Freemasons are one of the most ancient secret societies which still exist. However, their origins are still unknown to many people and even to many of their members, because the plots of their leaders are very secret and hidden and they are very keen to conceal their plots and aims. (Part No. 2; Page No. 442) Therefore most of their affairs are conducted verbally, with no written record. When they want to write an idea or announce it to the public, it is first subjected to the scrutiny of Masonic censors who decide whether it may be released or not. The foundations of Freemasonry were based on theories taken from several sources, mostly from Jewish traditions. This is supported by the fact that Jewish ideas and teachings were taken as the basis for founding the Grand Lodge in 1717 A.D. with its principles and symbols. The Masons still venerate the Jew Hiram and the temple he built, from which they take the design of the Masonic lodges in the world. The greatest Masonic leaders are Jews who form the backbone of the Masonic movement. They are the ones who represent Jewish organizations in Masonic lodges. Thanks to them, freemasonry spread and masons can cooperate throughout the world. They are the driving force behind freemasonry. The Jewish elite are leading different secret cells, running their affairs and directing them secretly as they wish. This is supported by a report in the Masonic Acacia Magazine (1908, issue no. 66) which says that there is no Masonic lodge that is free of the Jews. Indeed, all Jews do not follow one way or another exclusively, rather there are only principles for them to follow. This is also the case with the Masons. Therefore, the Jewish synagogues are our successor and we find great number of the Jews among the Freemasons.This is also supported by what is stated in the Masonic records (Part No. 2; Page No. 443) that, "The Jews are certain that the best means of destroying the faiths is Freemasonry. The history of the Masons is similar to that of the Jews in terms of belief. Their symbol is the six-pointed Star of David. The Jews and Freemasons both consider themselves to be the spiritual sons of the builders of the Temple of Solomon. The Freemasonry which distorts other religions opens the door to boost Judaism and its followers. The Jews took advantage of people's simple-mindedness and good intentions, and infiltrated freemasonry and reached high positions within it, thus they breathed a Jewish spirit into the Masonic lodges and subjugated them to their own aims.One of the clearest indications of their intense desire to conceal their plots to destroy religions and provoke political revolutions is what it says in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, "We will concentrate these cells under a single leadership known to us alone. This leadership will be composed of our scholars and these cells will have special representatives, so that the true location of our leadership will be concealed. This leadership alone will have the right to decide who will speak, and to draw up the plans of the day. In these cells we will plan to lay traps for all the socialists and evolutionary classes of society. Most of the secret political plans are known to us and we will decide when to implement them. But the agents of the secret police will be members of these cells. When the conspiracies start throughout the world, (Part No. 2; Page No. 444) it will mean that one of our most dedicated agents will be at the head of these conspiracies and of course we will be the only people to direct the Masonic plots. We are the only people who know how to direct them and we know the ultimate goal of each action, whilst the Gentiles – non-Jews – are ignorant of most of these things related to the Masons, and they can not see the immediate results of what they are doing. And there is other evidence which points to the strong connection between the Jews and the Masons, and the cooperation between the two parties in revolutionary conspiracies and stirring up destructive movements. Even though Freemasonry outwardly appears to be a call to freedom of belief, tolerance, and social reform in general, in fact it is really a call for permissiveness and destructive factors which cause social disintegration and the loosening of bonds between nations and destruction of religion, morals, and the spread of mischief.Therefore, any Muslim who joins a Masonic group, knows the true nature of Freemasonry and its secrets, and carries out its rituals and is keen to do so is a Kafir (disbeliever) who should be asked to repent. If he repents, all will be well and good, otherwise he is to be killed. If he dies naturally in that state, he will be recompensed as a Kafir. Whoever joins the Freemasons not knowing what they really are, or knowing nothing about their plots against Islam and Muslims, and their spreading evil and the evil that they are planning against everyone who tries to bring people together and reform nations, but joins them in their general activities (Part No. 2; Page No. 445) and talks that do not apparently contradict Islam, is not a Kafir. Rather he is excused in general because of their concealing their true nature from him, and because he does not share their basic beliefs or aims. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Acts are judged by intentions, and every person will have only what he has intended. But he must declare his disavowal of them when he finds out what they really are, and he must tell people about their real nature and strive to disclose their secrets and plots against the Muslims, so that this will lay bare their hidden nature and frustrate their efforts.A Muslim should keep company with good people who will cooperate with him in his religious and worldly affairs. He should have insight when choosing close friends so that he can be safe from being tempted by these apparently attractive ideas and the evil consequences of honeyed words. Thus, he will not fall into the traps of the people of Shirk, which they set up to ensnare the naive, followers of whims and desires, and the weak-minded.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.