The dead person's body is washed and wrapped in white cloth. Muslims prefer not to use a coffin.
Muslims try to bury the dead person as fast as possible, within 24 hours.
Bodies are buried facing Makkah.
Because Muslims believe that at the Day of Judgement there will be a physical resurrection, cremation is forbidden. Allah will put people's bodies back together again at the Day of Judgement:
Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? Indeed, We have the power to restore his very finger tips.
Surah 75:3-4
While people are standing by the grave the opening Surah of the Qur'an is read:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds. Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement, You alone do we worship and Your aid we seek. Show us the straight way, the way of those to whom You have given Your favour, and not of those who go astray.
Surah 1
Then, once the body is in the ground, people say:
From the earth have We created you, and into it We shall return you and from it shall We bring you forth once more.
Surah 20:55
Graves are raised above ground level so that people do not walk on them and large tombstones or decorations are discouraged
Another major monotheistic religion is Islam. Islamic people believe in a peace from "total submission to and acceptance of the One and Only God (Allah) and His will" (Sedki Riad, 1). People who submit themselves to Allah are called "Muslims". Muslims believe that their lives on this earth are only a transition that precedes their afterlife.
Muslims ancestors were ancient Arabs. "The ancient Arabs had no conception of either resurrection or the existence of another life after death" (Said Ennahid, 1). Even so, they seemed to believe that the dead continued on after death. It has been shown that they had ideas of wandering and thirst associated with dying. They believed that the dead who were left without burials and those whose death was not avenged were left with their spirits wandering and thirsty (Ennahid, 1). With the advent of Islam, they believed that life and death were divine decrees, given by god, not by events or parents (Ennahid, 1). They also believe that their God judges them after death and that the spirit continues on after death. Said said, "by embracing Islam, Arabs substituted the notion of community of faith to the previous notion of community of blood" (1).
In an Islamic cemetery, funerary monuments are always common (Ennahid, 1). But, Riad claimed that only a stone with no writings may be used to mark a grave’s location (4). Islamic cemeteries are normally placed on the exterior of the city walls, near the gates of the city. The slope or foot of mountains is also a place where cemeteries are sometimes placed (Ennahid, 2). This traditional placement away from the populace may come from a superstitious fear of the dead. Apparently, it is a practice that if forty years pass since the last burial, "the land of a cemetery can be reused for burying the dead or any other use." (Ennahid, 2).
Muslims have their own set of funeral rites, which somewhat resemble the rights practiced by other religions. "According to the Sunna, it is preferable to whisper the shahada in the ear of a dying man whose face is turned to Mecca" (Ennahid, 2). The "Sunna" is the teachings of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, and the "shahada" is an Islamic prayer (Ennahid, 4). This act is similar to the sacrament of anointing of the sick, which is practiced in the Catholic and other Christian religions (The anointing of the sick was traditionally known as the "Last Rites").
After someone dies, they wash the body several times, but always an even number (Ennahid, 2). "Muslims have this common tendency to start everything from the right," commented Said. Even after they have died, they are washed starting from the right side (Ennahid, 2).
When placed in the grave, a white shroud is commonly worn. Other colors are allowed, but not red. The eyes of the dead are closed, they tie up the jaw, and the clothes are tied tightly, but then loosened once the body is placed in the grave (Ennahid, 2). This is similar to many other religions. Both the Islamic and Christian religions close the eyes of the dead. Many religions in the past have bound their dead. They may have bound their dead for the reasons of fear of the dead, but it is more likely that they do it now more out of tradition than out of any real fear.
When an Islamic funeral procession passes along a street, the people sitting along it are obligated to stand as it passes, as a sign of respect (Ennahid, 3). This is similar to the tradition in some Christian religions where passers-by walk along with the procession or say a prayer. People in both of these cultures show respect for other people’s loved ones when they die.
Said commented, "the burial must be done on the same day of death or the following day, but their are some exceptions." A nighttime hurried burial is not approved (Ennahid, 3). When it actually comes time to put the body in the grave, it is placed in the grace by the nearest relative. Muslims always make sure the body is buried facing Mecca (Ennahid, 3). Following their tendency, they place the body on its right side (Riad, 4).
According to Islam the good people welcome death as a rite passage to a better existence in the hereafter. They look forward to death, as a happy event. The wish for death can be negative for the escapist who looks to death as a relief from present psychological or physical distress.
