Authors: Vincent J. Cornell
Voices of Islam (161 page)
He needed his hand in order to undergo the Interrogation in the Grave by the angels Nakir and Munkir. In Islam, the resurrection of the dead cannot take place unless the body is intact. We all felt sad for ‘Ali and were curious about what the woman’s husband would say or do when he found out what his wife had done. ‘Ali knocked at the woman’s door all night, repeatedly pleading for her to give his hand back. As she described ‘Ali’s actions, the storyteller would have us repeat this refrain: ‘‘‘Ali wants his hand back. He wants it before the new day dawns.’’ We would repeat this again and again, pleading along with ‘Ali to restore his hand so that he could escape from the torments of the grave. Finally, just before dawn, the woman relented and confessed to her husband what she had done. ‘Ali got back his hand, and the storyteller had us recite in celebration the answers that ‘Ali would need in order to free himself from the grave: ‘‘Allah is my Lord, the Qur’an is my Book, Muhammad is my Prophet, and Islam is my Religion.’’
The issue of accountability is of paramount importance in Islam. All of creation is governed by a just God that sees to it that everything, including the universe itself, will answer to Him. In the story of ‘Ali Wants His Hand Back, the particularity of such accountability lies within the human being as a microcosm, where one’s limbs are brought forth to testify on the person’s behalf as stated in the Qur’an: ‘‘On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against their actions’’ (Qur’an 24:24). Think- ing about the bodies and extremities in these stories brought me back to the body I was about to wash and prepare for burial.
WASHING AND PREPARING THE BODY FOR BURIAL
The director of the Islamic Center broke our silence by announcing that we should be ready to get out of the car and head to the mortuary, where the body was. He reminded his wife not to forget the bag containing the
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towels, the gloves, the sheets, the shampoo, the musk, and anything else that was necessary for washing and preparing the body for burial. He asked me to bring the tape recorder containing the tape with the appropriate Qur’anic verses that are customarily recited while the washing of the body takes place.
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He also handed me a few sheets of paper containing instructions for performing the washing of the deceased according to Islamic principles.
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The requirements for washing a body in Islam are as follows:
The person washing the body must be a Muslim.
The person performing the washing must be in a state of purity. He or she must have made their ablution before they start washing the body of the deceased.
A woman who has just given birth is exempt from washing bodies.
A woman who is having her menstrual period is not allowed to wash a body.
If the deceased is male, his washing must be performed by a male.
If the deceased is female, the washing of her body must be done by a female.
Husbands are allowed to wash the bodies of their wives.
Wives are allowed to wash the bodies of their husbands.
Preparing a body for burial is a process that requires preparation and the right materials. To prepare the body of the young bride for burial, the direc- tor’s wife brought three towels to preserve her modesty: one towel was to cover the woman’s breasts, another was to cover her private parts, and another was to cover the backside of the woman when she was turned over. A man would need only two towels to preserve his modesty. She also brought two other towels to dry the body after washing. In the United States, it is also customary to bring latex gloves to wear during the preparation of the body, a large sheet of plastic to put under the body, and a pair of scissors to cut the burial shroud. Other required items include soap to wash the body, shampoo to wash the dead person’s hair, and musk to anoint the body. If musk is not available, an oil-based, nonalcoholic perfume is acceptable. The burial shroud (
kufn
) requires three sheets for a male and five sheets for a female. The sheets must be without a hem and made of white cotton. Nowadays, twin sheets are used for most people, but queen sheets may be used for a large person. The edges of hemmed sheets can be removed with scissors. Any sewing, seams, or embroidery on the sheets must be removed as well.
Before preparing the body for burial, it must be placed on high table, with the face up. In the United States, the best-equipped place for such a task is a funeral home. Muslims have been using such facilities for many years now, and their needs have been accommodated accordingly. The fi step is to undress the body of the deceased while making sure that the private parts remain covered at all times. A large piece of plastic and paper towels are put under the hips to collect any rectal or urinary discharges. After undressing the body, the person who prepares the body for burial presses the stomach
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gently to get rid of any discharges. The soiled plastic and paper towels are discarded in a garbage bag along with the fi pair of latex gloves, and the bag is sealed.
The preparer next washes her hands, puts on a new pair of gloves, and performs the ablution (
wudu’
) of the body. She starts by cleaning the teeth and the inside of the nose, and then performs the following ritual ablutions. These ablutions are similar to those done by a living person, with a few minor variations:
Wash the hands up to the wrist three times (right hand first, then left).
Put water over the mouth three times. A living person would rinse the inside of the mouth.
Put water over the nostrils three times. A living person would wash the inside of the nostrils.
Wash the face from the forehead to the chin and from ear to ear three times.
Wash the forearms up to the elbow three times, right first, then left.
Wipe with a wet hand over the whole of the head once only.
Wash the feet up to the ankles three times, right, then left.
The Center director’s wife then filled the mouth, ears, nose, and eyes of the deceased bride with cotton to prevent water from entering her body. She next washed the body with a washcloth and soap three times, fi on the right side, then on the left. If the body is still not clean after the first wash- ing, it may be washed as many times as needed. However, the number of washings must always be an odd number: one washing, three washings, five washings, and so on. To preserve the modesty of the dead person, one must not remove the towels covering the private parts but must wash under them. The last washings must be done without soap. For example, if washings one and two are done using soap, washings four and five must be done with plain water. Rinsing the body should be done by pouring the water gently over the body: the right side first, then the left side, then the right side again, then the left side. The last rinse must be done with scented or perfumed water.
The director’s wife then shampooed and washed the hair of the young woman three times and rinsed it well. A woman’s hair may be braided in three braids or placed to the sides or to the back. For men, the hair is simply combed neatly. Next, she removed the cotton that was used to cover the body openings and discarded it in the garbage bag, along with her second pair of gloves. Putting on a third pair of gloves, she dried the body with clean towels. Finally, she put musk on the woman’s head, forehead, nose, hands, knees, eyelids, and armpits and placed perfumed cotton on her private parts. While, she was preparing the body, the tape deck was playing recitations of the Qur’an. Thinking about these procedures made me realize how unchanged they have remained throughout more than 14 centuries of
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Islamic history. With the exception of a few modern additions such as latex gloves, plastic bags, and a tape deck, little of the ritual of washing and prepar- ing the body for burial has changed over time. A major reason for this is that most of these rituals are preserved in the collections of Hadith.
For example, Umm ‘Atiyya reported that when Zaynab, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad died, the Prophet said: ‘‘Wash her an odd number of times, and put camphor or something similar on her body at the fi washing.’’ Upon completing this task, the women informed the Prophet that they had done as he had asked. Then he gave them his undergarment and said, ‘‘Put it next to her body.’’ The women then braided Zaynab’s hair in three plaits, two on the sides of her head and one on her forehead. Following the instructions of the Prophet, every task must start from the right side, and with those parts of the body upon which ablution is performed.
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A common addition to this procedure is to add some water from the well of Zam Zam in
the Sacred Mosque of Mecca to the water that is used to wash the body for burial, if such water is available.
The process of shrouding and covering the body has also changed little over time. The Prophet’s wife ‘A’isha reported that when the Messenger of God died, he was first shrouded in a material from Yemen. Then it was removed from him and he was shrouded in three sheets of white Yemeni cotton. The cloth was said to have been not from a garment or a turban.
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In modern times, white cotton bed sheets are often used in place of bolts of white cotton cloth. Often, people making the pilgrimage to Mecca bring their burial shrouds from Mecca or buy them for friends and family members as gifts.
When we wrapped the body of the young woman who had died on her honeymoon, we used fi sheets to make the burial shroud. First, we cut two sheets in half, which gave us four pieces of cotton cloth. We cut a hole in the center of one piece, large enough to go over the waist of the dead woman. This piece is to be slipped over the head and pulled down to the waist to act as a sort of pajama bottom. We cut a second hole in the center of another piece of cloth, large enough to fi over her head. This piece was to act as a sort of blouse, covering her chest. We next cut long, thin strips of the third piece to be used as ties. Any remaining cloth from this piece would be used as a scarf to cover the head. The fourth piece of cloth was kept as a snug-fitting wrap to go around the bosom.
The mortuary had provided us with a simple wooden casket in which to place the body. We put one of the tie strips in the bottom of the casket and then placed a whole sheet in the casket to be used as the outer sheet of the shroud. We then used another sheet for the first wrapping of the body. We closed the sheet around the body from head to toe, covering the face, and tied it off at the top of the head, the waist, and the feet. Then we took the half sheet with the larger hole, put it over her head and shoulders, and pulled it down to her waist, until the bottom of the cloth touched her ankles. Then
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we took the half sheet with the smaller hole and pulled over her head, fixing it like a blouse. We next took the third half sheet and wrapped it tightly around her bosom area. The final piece of cloth was folded into a triangle and placed on the woman’s head like a scarf. This was folded under the chin. Finally, we lifted the body and placed it in the casket on the last sheet, face up. We closed the sheet completely around the body and tied it at the waist. Then we faced the body in the direction of Mecca and closed the casket.
When I entered Forest Lawn Mortuary for the first time, I was so shocked by the sight of the bodies laid out for embalming that I could feel my head spinning. When we arrived where the body of the young bride was, I could not bear to look at her. The Center director noticed how pale I was and immediately made me sniff some perfume. I felt like running out of the mortuary, but I could not do so. Because I had been called upon to take care of somebody that needed real help, I did not have the luxury to feel sorry for myself. I could not allow my ego to distract me from my sense of duty. After that first time at the mortuary, I was able to prepare other bodies for burial, including the bodies of children, without thinking of myself. Instead, I spent my preparation time silently asking God to grant the deceased mercy and peace.
THE FUNERAL PRAYER (
SALAT AL-JANAZA
)
Unlike the daily canonical prayers in Islam, funeral prayers do not require bending at the waist (
sujud
) or prostration (
ruku’
). The entire prayer is done while standing. Typically, the prayer is led by the Imam of the mosque where the deceased person used to worship most frequently, but the prayer can be led by any qualified person. In the case of the Canadian bride who died in Los Angeles, the director of the Islamic Center of Southern California led the funeral prayer. During the funeral prayer, the men stand in lines at the front, and women stand in lines at the back.
When the funeral prayer is performed, the body of the deceased is placed in front of the Imam. The Imam positions himself behind the middle of the casket if the deceased is a woman and by the left shoulder if the deceased is a man. The funeral prayer is begun like the regular
Salat
prayer, by raising the hands and saying, ‘‘God is greatest’’ (
Allahu akbar
). Then the Imam and those who pray behind him quietly recite
Surat al-Fatiha,
the opening Sura of the Qur’an:
All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds, The Beneficent, the Merciful,
Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone do we worship,
And to You alone do we turn for aid. Guide us to the Straight Way,
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The way of those of whom You are satisfied, Not of those who have angered You,
Nor of those who have gone astray.
(Qur’an 1:1–7)
The Imam and the congregation then say, ‘‘God is greatest’’ a second time but without raising the hands. After this, they make the
tashahud,
the recita- tion of the
Shahada
in the prayer: ‘‘I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.’’ They then say ‘‘God is greatest’’ a third time, without raising the hands. At this point in the prayer, all who are present make a silent supplication for the soul of the deceased. Then they say, ‘‘God is greatest’’ a fourth time and make a supplication for all Muslims. The prayer finishes with the congregation following the Imam in saying, ‘‘Peace be unto you’’ (
al-salamu ‘alaykum
), first to the right side and then to the left side.