Muslim Culture: The Washing Of The Body

In the Pashupatinath valley region, there is a cremation temple which is a part of the landscape of the dead in Nepal. A landscape of the dead is a place where burial rituals are carried out, which may vary by religion. In Pashupatinath, when a woman’s husband or family dies, she wears white. The attendees of the funeral offer the soul of the deceased body incense, food, and water so that it doesn’t feel troubled on its journey towards a new form. The deceased’s mouth is then lit on fire by the eldest brother, which is said to purify his/her soul. In the landscape, there are also many river cleaners who pan for gold fillings that come from the teeth of the deceased.

Other than providing much of the grounds of modern medicine, medicine in the Islamic Empire was innovatory, pre-eminent and revolutionary. For instance, in 706 CE, the first hospital was built by Muslims in Baghdad and the building of hospitals were continued until every major city in the Islamic world had several hospitals, some specialised for certain areas of disease, including mental and emotional. These hospitals were places of clinical training and learning for aspiring doctors as well as treatment centres for patients. After performing physical examinations, working at ward rounds and attending lectures, students were required to pass practical and oral exams for a doctor’s license. As well as having futuristic systems to supply a certified

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

Chinese religion and strict cultural beliefs are inseparable from the death rites performed. Many different names for death are scattered throughout Chinese history, including an ideogram that depicts a person kneeling in front of their ancestor's bones 1. In Chinese culture, death rites are intricate and well thought out works on preparing one for the afterlife and rebirth. Chinese funeral rites have strict guidelines as to where the rites are to be performed, how the rites are performed (ritual bathing of the corpse), the dress of the attendees and the dead, the transfer of material goods on Earth to the dead, acknowledgement of the deceased and the actual burial of the body. All these sacred rites are performed by specialists (usually

In this paper, we will discuss the different death rituals performed in different cultures. We view death rituals from Native Americans, Africans, those of the Chinese decent, and endocannibalism from the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. Death is universal to all people in every culture. Responses to how one deals with death and dying differ greatly. Death rituals are usually based on beliefs. This can come from religion, history, language, and art.

At some point in our lives, we all come to realize that death is a part of life. Cultural diversity provides a wide variety of lifestyles and traditions for each of the unique groups of people in our world. Within these different cultures, the rituals associated with death and burial can also be uniquely diverse. Many consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people.

Although many cultures have different say in this sacred ceremony, most have similar ideas.  To many

How are the customary funeral and mourning rituals of Judaism, Protestant Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and Islam similar and different? Judaism and Islam have similar funeral practices. Both Islam and Judaism appoint the responsibilities of the burial of the deceased within their communities. Both traditions require the dead be buried as promptly as possible. It is for the body to be buried on the same day of the death. Islam and Judaism forbid embalming and routine autopsies as desecration of the dead. However, both religions consider organ donation as permissible. Muslims are strictly forbidden from the process of cremation, while Jewish rules on cremation can vary depending on the denomination. Conservative Jews oppose cremation while the process has become an increasingly more popular and acceptable practice among Reform Jews.

Every individual experiences the act of death, and most persons experience the death of someone they know of. Whether family, kin, or someone infamous, the living deal with the process of dying. Anthropology seeks to understand the universal process of death ritual and how different cultures deal with death differently. An anthropologist can extract social values of a given culture, past or present, from how death ceremony is practiced. Such values could be regarding political hierarchy or an individual’s status in a society, and about a culture’s spiritual or religious faith. By exploring death ceremony in ancient Egypt, contemporary Hindu death practice in India, and current North American funerary rites, it can be illustrated that

In the funeral world there are a lot of different styles of funerals. For example, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic funerals. Both very different, but at the same time they have several things in common. In funerals there is an abundance of things to compare and contrast. We will be looking at different ways the notification of death is handled in both of these religions, removal, embalming, dressing/casketing, visitation requirements/rituals, and interment or cremation.

This act reflects the strong ties between birth and death because the same act is done to a newborn baby in Ashanti tradition. After washing the corpse, the body will be dressed and laid in state on a bed with corpse dressed in varies with age, wealth and religion. A corpse from a royal family is covered in kente cloth with a cigarette placed between his lips and another between his fingers, follow by a coin on his forehead. While the corpse of a non-royal family will be buried with the objects or symbols that is very significant to the individual placed with dead person in death. When burying women or men, women are often buried with their pot while men are buried with their bows and quivers.

These events are taken to extreme measure, making sure every step is taken with care. Theorist Terence Lovat’s theory of the five step approach can be delivered in a Islamic death ritual through the series of events in the lead up and post of the funeral. The preparation of the funeral happens before the death of the person. When the Muslim is dying, someone must firmly but gently prompt the person dying to say the holy declaration prayer, this is called the Shahaada. People can then offer their condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased, this in Islam is an important act of kindness. The next important factor is the physical cleansing of the body. The bathing of the corpse is an important part of ‘Sunnah the Prophet’, this is a part of the Islamic Shari’ah. The method, the style and the accessories that are used may vary from time to time and from place to place. After the body has been cleansed, the corpse is then wrapped in a plain simple cloth, this cloth is called ‘Kafan’ and the process called ‘Takfeen’. The main factor while wrapping the body is to respectfully cover the private part, so they aren’t visible to others. Islam traditions state that the cloth must be a material must be a gaudy style as well as the cloth not being too flashy, it is for this reason that most muslims pick a white cotton cloth. Perfume is often used on the cloth (Amjad,

Worldviews, whether or not we realize it, affect the way we evaluate different aspects of reality. In this paper, I will be discussing Christianity and Islam. More specifically, pertaining to the concept of self, or the question “What is a human being?” Different understandings of the concept of a human being result in different ways of valuing and treating other people, including the patients we care for in our nursing practice. Although both Islam and Christianity are monotheistic religions, in the Islam faith, humans are regarded as being born inherently good; in Christianity humans are created in God’s image and are born with original sin. Examining scriptures from both faiths and each religion’s concept of a human being allows for deeper insight into their respective worldviews.

The services given to the dead in the Muslim culture are unique. There is no wake or viewing of the body in the Islamic tradition. The funeral service is actually a prayer service offered to present petitions to God asking for the forgiveness of the sins of the deceased. Even Muslims who are not close with the deceased or the family can participate in this ritual. Wailing loudly or screaming is forbidden for it is considered undignified (“Islam: Periods of Mourning,” 2017).

Exactly what is considered as a Muslim? A Muslim is defined as a believer in Islam, however a Black Muslim is considered as a member of the nation of Islam. A follower of the religion of Islam, as Muslims, means one who submits to god. Muslims came in the seventeenth century with slaves from Africa. The history of Muslim Americans goes back more than 400 years. America is called home for the Muslims, they present as taxi drivers, homemakers, and also entertainers. Muslim Americans make up at least one percent of the U.S. population (“Teaching Tolerance”).