A highly regarded and long-serving figure in the Islamic community has joined the Chaplaincy Team at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) as a volunteer.
Safiq Master is pleased to be a Chaplaincy Volunteer and is looking forward to offering his support to patients and staff at all three of the Trust’s main hospital sites in North Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Safiq said: “My motivation is always to help humanity; to be there for each other. I am a Muslim and Islam is not about helping yourself.
“We are here to help people from all different backgrounds, faiths and cultures. I am glad that I’m in a fortunate position to be able to assist people at the Trust and in the community.
“My motto is: ‘Why make life hard when it can be easy!’ I will continue helping people to the best of my ability as long as I am able to do so. If someone needs my assistance at the Trust, I will endeavour to get in touch with them and visit them personally, if required, and offer whatever guidance I can.
“If they have any queries, I will answer them to the best of my knowledge and if I am unsure of anything, I will get back to them with an appropriate response. If anyone from another faith would like to talk to me about anything, I will always be happy to accommodate them.”
Safiq, 50, said: “I see myself as being in a ‘caretaker’ role in the Chaplaincy Team – facilitating communication on Islamic matters between departments, staff and patients.
”For several years Safiq has voluntarily provided assistance and guidance to local authorities regarding Islamic burials and other related topics.
He said: “I have been very fortunate to work alongside many senior individuals and to liaise with various departments such as the Bereavement Office at the Trust, the Mortuary, the Registry Office and HM Coroner’s Office, to name but a few.
“I have access to scholars who have assisted me regarding Islamic guidelines, when needed, and together we have had discussions pertaining to death and burial with the authorities such as the Coroner’s Office whenever they have had queries to gain a deeper understanding of religious practices regarding death and burial in the Muslim community.
“In the Islamic guidance and tradition, burials are expected to take place on the day that a person dies, except for any extenuating circumstances whereby alternative and appropriate measures would be taken.
“One of the reasons that a person is buried as soon as possible after they have died, is that we believe that a person is not fully at peace until after the burial.
“Sometimes this is not possible due to further investigations being carried out, so I work with the clinical teams and authorities to expedite the process as efficiently as possible.“
