Funeral and mourning rites
Upon hearing of a death, Muslims say the following words:
To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.
The funeral rites for different Muslim communities may differ as they are not found in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍The sacred book in Islam, it is believed that it contains the word of God, dictated by Angel Jibril and written in Arabic., and much depends on the rules and provisions of the country in which they are living.
When someone is dying, the family gathers around them to pray. When they die, the body is washed at least three times with the head in the direction of the qiblahThe direction Muslims face during Salat or Salah (prayer) when they must look to Mecca (Makkah). 鈥 this will be carried out by the person鈥檚 family members or someone of the same gender.
The funeral is carried out as soon as possible so that the body is buried before it starts to decay (decaying of the body can be extremely quick, especially in hot countries). Traditionally, only men attend the funeral as women may become too emotional over the death of their loved one.
Yawm al-din
Due to the belief that Allah will raise their bodies from their graves on the Day of Judgement - Yawm al-DinThe Day of Judgement (yawm means 鈥榙ay鈥, and din means 鈥榡udgement鈥). - cremation (the burning of the body) is forbidden. Instead, the body is laid in a grave facing MeccaCity where the Prophet Muhammad was born, and where the Ka鈥檅a is located - often spelt Makkah. and the grave is filled with handfuls of earth.
The mourning period differs from one Muslim tradition to another. Some mourn for no more than three days, whilst exceptions are made for widows who may mourn for four months and ten days. They are not allowed to remarry during this time. Muslims will make sure that a widow is not left alone during the mourning period.