I have heard that the late Mr. Asmal who was cremated had expressed the desire to be buried.

Answer

What he was in his heart is the domain of Allah Ta'ala Who will judge on the Day of Qiyaamah. Our concern is with the observance of Allah's Shariah. We are not concerned with Allah's judgments on the Day of Qiyaamah. The burnt out person did not live like a Muslim. He has publicly proclaimed his atheism and his love for whisky and gin which were perfectly 'permissible' in his agnostic ideology. If he had reverted to Islam, he should have made this known. He should have declared his Islam. He should have publicly repented He should have left a burial directive instructing that he should be buried as a Muslim since he is a Muslim. But, on the contrary, according to his family, his burial directive was 'cremation' – to be incinerated in Naar (Fire of Jahannum).

In the final analysis, according to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) a person will die and be resurrected the way he lived. May Allah Ta'ala save our Imaan.