muslims funeral customs

8/4/2019 Muslims Funeral Customs

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Muslim Funeral Customs

Author(s): A. S. TrittonSource: Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 9, No. 3 (1938),pp. 653-661Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/608227

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Muslim Funeral CustomsBy A. S. TRITTONT HERE is no article " funeral " in the Encyclopwdiaof Islam so itseemed good to collect the material on this subject. The first

charge on a Muslim's estate was the cost of his funeral, the provisionof grave-clothes, tomb, and the expense of washing the body.WASHINGThe body was washed by those nearest to the dead ; normally men

prepareda man for burial. " They turned up their sleeves, tucked theirshirts into their belts, washed him, and wrapped him in the windingsheet." Abfi Bakr was washed by his widow and Jabir b. Zaid gaveorders that his widow should wash his body; this rule is generalizedin al-Mudawwana. 'All helped to wash Muhammad though 'Alshasaid that he should have been washed by the widows. Fatima, beinga saint, washed herself in readiness for death and, after her death, 'Aliwashed her again. The body was not always stripped; Muhammad'swas not and in A.U. 195 a man gave orders that he was to be washedthrough his clothes. Water was used for washing and sometimes saltwas sprinkled in it. The washings must be an uneven number, three,five, or more. A common custom was once with water, once withwater in which acacia leaves had been steeped, and once with waterand camphor. The washing began on the right side of the body withthe places of the minor ablution. A piece of cloth is put over the privateparts or the washer's hand is wrapped in a cloth. It was customaryto wash the head with camphor. On a journey near relatives of theopposite sex may wash the dead but a woman must be washed throughher clothes. If only strangers are present, there is no washing, onlytayammum,a rubbing with sand. In any case, if the body is coveredwith sores or if infection is feared, it is enough to pour lots of waterover it. GRAVE-CLOTHES

Sometimes ordinary clothes were used, sometimes special.Muhammad was buried in his clothes, in three white garments fromYemen but without shirt or turban. He gave his loincloth (hkw) tothe women, who washed his daughter, that it might be put next herskin; he gave a shirt that 'Abdullah b. Ubai might be buried in it.


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654 A. S. TRITTON-Mu'awiya was buried in a shirt which the prophet had given him.Sa'd b. Ab-iWakkas was buried in thejubbawhich he had worn at Badr.One was buried in old clothes, because the living have a better right tothe new. 'Ali was buried in three garments but not in a shirt; al-Bukhari was also in three but not in a shirt or turban. Two wereconsideredenough. One man gave ordersfor two but three were used;in the morning the third was on the clothes-stand. The winding sheetmight have buttons but they were not always fastened and there isa referenceto sewing the sheet. Oneman was buried in an unbuttonedshirt, turban, and three sheets. Ibn Sirin said that a woman shouldbe buried in an undergarment (shi'ar) not in an izdr, a word which isunfortunately ambiguous. In later times white was the recognizedcolourthough greenwas allowed ; red was not becauseit was the colourof Korah.

When a man's cloak was not long enough to cover the whole body,it was put over his head and his feet were covered with reeds. Martyrswere buried in their clothes without being washed. So Hujr b. 'Adiwished to be buried in his clothes. 'Amr b. al-'As gave orders that heshould be buried in three garments with the loin-cloth fastened for" I am a litigant ". Those who died at 'Arafa were buried with thehead uncovered as they would be raised crying, " labbaika." WhenMaimfina, Muhammad's widow, was buried someone put a cloakunder her head ; Ibn 'Abbasthrew it aside and put a stone in its place.A man gave instructions that, when he was put in the pit, they shoulddraw aside the cloth so as to put him on the bare earth, meaning tearthe sheet beneath him. Elsewhere they objected to the body's lyingon the earth and it had to be raised four fingers. Spices were used;sometimes they were put on the body and sometimesbetween the grave-clothes but not outside them. They might be put on the clothes beforethey were wrapped round the body. Dust might be strewn on it.Mu'dwiyagave orders that some parings of the prophet's nails shouldbe ground to powder and put in his eyes and mouth. Some said thatspices might not be used at the funeral of one who died on pilgrimage.

Therewas some differencebetween the funeral of a man and that ofa woman. When the prophetwas buried, a man threw his cloak into thegrave crying, " No one shall wear it more." This looks like an aetio-logical tale; for opinionsdifferedon this extra covering. Some alloweda cloth to be spread on the grave, apparentlymeaning on the body inthe grave. " A white cloth was spread on the grave and Hasan al-BasrIdid not change it orobject till the burialwas complete " is difficult


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MUSLIM FUNERAL CUSTOMS 655to explain; perhaps it was like the tent, which will be mentioned later.On the other hand, no cloth was to be spread on the grave of Shuraihand similar words are used in several accounts of another funeral." He took the cloth off him and I saw the unguents on his grave-clothes." "He refused to let them spread a cloth on the grave for'he is only a man '." " Take the cloth off him; this is only done withwomen." It is clear that an extra covering was put over a woman'sbody. The prophet's daughter, Zainab, had her hair arrangedin threeplaits.

PROCESSIONIt is the duty of a Muslimor at least a good deed to follow a funeral.Men should stand when one passes, even if it is that of a Jew. Men

carrythe bier ; if possible, the mourners should take it in turns to carry.The pace had to be quick,not like a marriage,and noise was forbidden.Hence the rule that no woman might attend a funeral. The pay of awoman mourner is unlawful. In A.H. 62 a man forbade women tofollow his bier as he feared " the announcement of the Time ofIgnorance ", i.e. wailing. Anotherrevoked any legacy to an ummwaladif she wailed. Custom is summarized in the words " we are of theprophet's mind; none of us lament, shave, or rend ". Al-Ahnaf gavethese orders, " No woman shall wail or weep for me; tell none of mydeath ; hurrythe procession." Guards were set at the ends of the roadsto keep the women away. One gave orders that no poet should beemployed to sing his praises. Those present at a funeral should notstand ; at first the prophet had stood but later he sat.

Walid b. Yazid and his brother, clad in shirt and cloak, walked bythe bier of Ma'bad. In A.H. 358 at the funeral of Nasir al-Dawlahis sons went barefoot before the bier. Some objected when a mancame to his son's funeral in fine clothes. He replied by quoting, " Thosewho say, when calamity befalls them, we belong to God and to him wereturn."Muhammadwas buried at night so this became a favourite time forfunerals;

Shuraih.and his son were both buried at night. Torches,made of palm fronds with rags dipped in oil, were used. Al-Ra.diwasburied at night and ten servants carried torches. Light was alsoforbidden, " do not follow with fire." Later, fire was explained asincense, which was forbidden during the procession. Feeling was

strong that a funeral ought to be private ; " tell no one " is a commoninjunction. Important men sometimes rode in the procession on a

VOL. IX. PART 3. 43


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656 A. S. TRITTON-mule or donkey; this is told of Shuraih and of HIasanal-Basri thoughone account makes it a concession to his age. Muhammadand the firstcaliphs walked before the bier and it is permissible to go on aheadto the grave and wait for the procession there. The body should notbe set down in a mosque for the prayers. If there are several at once,the men should be laid nearer to the imam and the women nearer tothe kibla. Malik allowed women to follow the funerals of relatives.

RITUAL IMPURITYThere are two views. A Muslim is not impure, alive or dead. " I

do not know anyone who regardswashing as a necessity after washingthe dead nor the ablution after carryinghim." " We were at prayerandreturned to prayer; is there any need of ablution for what isbetween ? " this was said by those who carrieda bier and attended thefuneral. Men perfumed, wrapped, and carried a corpse and then wentto the mosque without ablution. The other view. Asma was fastingand it was cold when she washed AbniBakr so it was decided that sheneed not wash. Men, after washing the dead, performed the minorablution and carried him out of the house. A tradition says, " Let him,who has washed the dead, wash." Ibn al-Athir says that this is sunna,and most agree. Al-Shafi'i approved, " If the tradition is right, Ihold by it."PRAYER

It is called prayer (saldt) though there is neither prostration, genu-flection, nor spoken words. The mourners stand in rows, the boys withthe men. At Muhammad's funeral, men, women, boys, and slavesprayed in succession without an imam. Al-A'mashsaw one where theslaves, slave-girls, Bactrian camels, and cow-camels were rangedseparately. The prayer might be in the mosque though the place forfunerals was beside it. Malik assumes that a relative will lead theprayer, a brother being nearer than a grandfather. With a woman,a blood-relative leads the prayer and the husband enters the grave.Some men made a habit of leading these prayers, like al-Harith theOne-eyed. Al-Jahiz mentions a chief of Tamim who always prayed overhis dead tribesmen. It was usualfor the leader to be someoneimportant.Aban b. 'Uthman was asked to lead over Ibn al-Hanafiya. At thefuneral of 'Umar I, the two rivals, 'Ali and 'Uthman, stood one at thehead and the other at the foot of the body. Both had to give place toSuhaib. Here was an opportunity for showing one's colours. BothIbn Mas'tid and 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Awf left orders that 'Uthman


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MUSLIM FUNERAL CUSTOMS 657should not pray over them. Another said, " Do not ask Ibn Ziyadto pray over me." A friend of Muhammadwas buried at night and theprophet was not told; in the morning he prayed by the grave. InA.H. 219 a descendant of Ja'far b. Abti Talib was asked to lead theprayer. When it was finished the governorcame, angry that he had notbeen told, so he moved a little way from the grave and prayed again.Ibn Mas'tidstood by the middle of a man and the shoulders of a woman.The prophet stood by the middle of a woman who had died in childbed.There are four takbir,the hands are raised at the first only. It ispetition, not a reading of the Qur'an. It must not follow the dawnprayer immediately but must wait till full daylight. Similarly, inthe afternoon it must wait till the sun is yellow. Here is a typicalprayer :

O God, he is thy servant, the son of thy servant and thy hand-maid; you led him to Isldm, you have taken his spirit and knowhim in secret and in the open. We have come to intercede for himand we have made intercession for him. I take hold of the rope ofthy protection for him; he is faithful and under thy care; guardhim fromthe discord of the grave and the punishment of Jahannam.At the funeralof AbMiHanifa prayerswere said six times because ofthe crowd ; his son led the last.The usual prayers are said over a suicide.

GRAVEThe grave was a pit with a narrowertrench at the bottom or a nicheat the side; the niche was customaty at Medina. A tale ofMuhammad'sburial says, " We sent for a nicher and a trencher and welet the one, who came first, do the work." The instructionsof A.H. 105,which have been quoted so often, demand a brick grave with a niche,not a new-fangledvault

(.j).Thespecifications,whichfollow, showthat there was no uniformity. If there is a gap in the brickwork, itmust be repairedas no bad workmanshipis allowed. A brick must be

removed from above the head. If brick is not available the wormsmustdo their work. There must be no lime, brick, or wood in the grave.A square grave; wide with a niche; not long and covered with reeds.'Umar II wanted a shallow grave. The prophet's grave was humped,yet one level with the ground was often demanded. Stonework abovegroundwas not approved. Oneman wanted a new grave, not one whichhad been redug. Another did not want his grave to be known to the


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658 A. S. TRITTON-tribe of Bakr because he had raided them in the Ignorance. A manliked to lie alone. One of those buried in a double grave after the battleof Uhud was dug up six months later and reburied alone. One gavestrict orders that no woman should lie with him. It became the rulethat man and woman should not be put in the same grave; if thiswere unavoidable, there must be a barrier between them. It was allsimple. During the funeralof Bishr b. Marwan,four black slaves burieda friend. One,who had attended the funeral of the prince, walked awaya few steps and then turned back; he could not tell which grave waswhich.

It seems that the body was taken into the grave head first; it waslaid on the right side, facing the KIibla,with a stone or brick underthehead. One gave command not to lay him on his face. The nearestrelatives descended into the tomb to arrange the body; they shouldbe an uneven number and not be women. Muhammadsplit a palm frondinto two and planted the halves on the graves of two sinners. " Perhapsit will ease the punishment as long as it does not wither." Once inKhurasan two fronds were planted on a grave; the only ones to befound came from the sack of a donkey driver. When the grave wasfilled up, water was sprinkledon it. When Zaidb. 'Alldied, they causedthe water to flow over the grave. Once when a funeral took place insummer,there was a sudden storm which wetted the grave and no more.The sons of 'Umar II bought the site of his grave from a monk.It was customary in the Ignorance to put a tent over the grave.'The funeral of Zainab, the prophet's daughter, was on a hot day so atent was pitched over the grave diggers; it was the first time this wasdone. This looks like an attelnpt to rationalizethe practice. The widowof a grandson of 'Ali kept a tent over his grave for a year. When itwas struck, she heard a voice saying, " Have they found what they hadlost ? " " Nay, they despair and have turned back." 'Abdullah b.'Abbas was buried in the mosque at Taif and a tent pitched over hisgrave. Sometimes the tent was expressly forbidden.

BIERThe body was carried to the grave on a bier as was the custom inthe Ignorance. That used for the prophet was used for all funeralsin Medina till 'Abd al-Malik made several, one for each quarter ofthe town, and the prophet's was kept for persons of distinction. A

1 Wellhausen, Reste, 183.


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MUSLIM FUNERAL CUSTOMS 659covered bier, said to have been introduced from Ethiopia, was usedfor women; one account says that it was first used for Fatima. Thedictionaries say that na'sh means bier and the cover is called harajbut Ibn Sa'd uses na'sh for the cover. " I saw a na'sh on the bier ofHafsa." " She gave command that she should be carried on theprophet's bier and a na'sh put over her." "I put on her a na'sh,called for green palm fronds, and covered her." In this phrase,according to Semitic idiom, the na'sh may be the fronds or a frame tosupport them.Some other practices may be mentioned here. The whole bodyhad to be buried, the cutting of the hair and nails was not allowed. Aman was sick and the doctor wanted to cut his hair but Maliksaid, " Iwill not bury him except whole." On the other hand Abu 'l-Malihcharged them to take part of his moustache and nails when he wasdead. Some allowed Caesarian ection of a dead woman, others didnot. A martyr was buried in his clothes and there was neither washing,nor grave-clothes, nor prayer.We read that a Qur'anwas buried with a corpse and that hairs ofthe prophet and paring of his nails were wrapped in the grave-clothes.

AFTER THE FUNERALSometimes animals were slaughtered and a feast made. Visitors tothe tomb of Ibn Suraij, the singer, killed a camel, mixed dust from the

grave with water and drank it " as a solace ". A widow had to abstainfrom perfumes for four months and ten days and remain in the hus-band's house for that period; others should not abstain for morethan three days. There is no need to add to what Wellhausenhas saidabout the right of asylum by a grave.LATER TIMES

The Talb7sIblis mentions some customs which it condemns. Coffinsare now in common use, many garments are buriedwith the dead, andwomen beat their breasts and rend their clothes. After a funeralpeople wear mean clothes for a month or a year and do not sleep onthe roof. In the middle of Sha'ban they visit the tombs, illuminatethe houses, and take dust from the graves. They hang rags on trees,addressthe dead by means of tablets, and pour perfumeson the graves.The Mudkhalgives a lively picture of the customs of its day. Themen mix with the women who expose and blacken their faces and partsof their bodies, let their hair loose, use the cries of the Ignorance,


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660 A. S. TRITTON-wear black or blue, throw dust on their heads, and defile the houseswith black stuff. It may be noted that the canons of Cyril II ofAlexandria forbid women to blacken their faces and to employ femalemourners. Some omit the prayers for a day or even a month. If thebody stays in the house overnight a candle is lighted by it. Thewailing women use tambourines; they abuse and make believe tobeat the woman washer of the dead; and when the body is laid on thebier there is extra noise which they call the farewell to the dead. Thewater which has been used is mixed with earth and with this they dirtytheir persons and clothes and so follow the bier. Mats and carpetsare spread in the streets and the Qur'an is read there. A man isappointed to recite praises of the dead. It was customary to leave thebodyin the mosqueafter the prayerwhilethe companyrecitedpetitions.The procession halts while the praises of the dead are recited and allpresent offer condolences to his representative. Often the companyleaves the bier to the porters,who race to the cemetery, and only meetsagain at the grave. These things are not good. It is wrong to thinkthat all the water in the house at the time of death is unclean, that thedead boast of their fine grave clothes, and are distressed if they arenot visited on Fridays as they can see their friends coming out of thecity gate.The following customs are also wrong. Those present when thespirit departs do no work for seven days. They kill an animal at thegrave and distribute the flesh and bread. For a year the women donot use henna, wear no fine clothes nor jewels, and do not go to thebath. They keep open house at meals for three days, keep lights burn-ing for three nights where the death took place and wherethe body waswashed, put a loaf of bread and a jug of water where the body waswashed, and do not wash the clothes of the dead for three days toavert the punishment in the grave. They eat no food between the timeof death and the end of the funeraland weep at the morningand eveningmeals for three days.This authority allows the use of a coffin in soft earth and forbidsincense and the sprinkling of rose water in the grave.

ADDITIONAL NOTEThe use of the root sll is puzzling. The original sense is " to takeor pull out "; Lane, following late authors, explains " he was takento the grave or from the bier "; the Lisan and the T&jdo not givethis usage. Here are instances of the word :-


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MUSLIM FUNERAL CUSTOMS 661

Kitdbal-Umm,1, 241. A .ibn Sa'd,

T.abakat,6, 44. J.-J,.

id. 6, 122. 41 13 1

id. 6, 117.id. 6 134.Hisamel was slain and skinned. The man was stripped, laid

1 3 4 .

o b v i o u s t h a t th e l a s t t w o q u o t a t i o n s w i t h th e s e n s e k e e pth e f u n e r a l p r i v a t e no t g i v e th e o r i g i n a l m e a n i n g . t e m p t i n g

s u g g e s t t h a t t h i s g o e s b a c k t i m e w h e n th e d e a d w e r eb u r i e d n a k e d . m o d e r n e x a m p l e g i v e n . m a n wa f a t a l l y

w o u n d e d . H i s c a m e l wa s l a i n an d s k i n n e d . T h e m a n wa s t r i p p e d , l a i don the inside of the skin, and finally buriedin it.' Theremay have beenmany intermediate senses, such as, " Speed the corpse along; if I amgood, to get me to God, and if bad, to get rid of me."

L Raswan, Black Tents of Arabia, 63 f.

muslims funeral customs

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