Death is a traumatic experience that every human being experiences at some point in his or her life. However, everyone views and handles death differently. There are many distinct influences of religion and culture on practices surrounding death. Cultural and religious backgrounds have been known to greatly impact an individual’s bereavement process. For instance, Islam provides a strong basis for Muslims in their expressions of grief and loss (Kausar et al., 2011).
Islamic Beliefs and Assumptions about Death and Beyond
In the Islamic faith, there are distinct beliefs and rituals on death and bereavement. Muslims define death as the point at which the soul leaves the body and the heart stops (Salman, 2010). This means that death
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Paradise is achieved when one has carried out good deeds, prayed, served their community, and followed the Islamic principles (Salman, 2010).
Islamic Death Practices
As mentioned before, it is unlawful in the Islamic faith to prepare the processes for an impending death before a “complete death”. A Muslim has not reached death until his or her last heart beat (Bedir & Aksoy, 2011). Muslim practice is to bury rather than cremate the deceased. Preparations of the body for burial take place within twenty-four hours. Funerary rituals involve final washing and shrouding the body in white cloth. Before the burial, the body is taken for recitation of prayers. The body is to be laid facing Mecca, an Islamic holy city in Saudi Arabia. It is customary for the women to stay at home or at a mosque and pray, while the men escort the body to the burial ground (Shaw, 2014). In Muslim countries, the body is buried without the casket while this is not the case in the United States (Salman, 2010). Following the burial, visitors attend the home of the deceased to offer condolences to the surviving family. Funerary rituals are usually performed collectively in the sense that people travel from near and far to acknowledge the deceased. The Islamic faith does not include placing flowers, burning candles, playing music, or singing.
Most Muslims prepare an Islamic will when they become adults. The will lists the people such as family members, neighbors and friends who
Gatrad, A. R. (1994). Muslim customs surrounding death, bereavement, postmortem examinations, and organ transplants. Bmj, 309(6953), 521-523. doi:10.1136/bmj.309.6953.521
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,
Different cultures, countries, religions, and community with various behaviors and rituals that guides their belief and action when a loved one pass away. Religious and spiritual belief, type of life after death, superstitious beliefs after death and beliefs towards the meaning of life are all based on tradition and death ritual.
Death is inevitable part of human experience, which is often associated with fear of unknown, separation, and spiritual connection. Death is an individual experience, which is based on unique perceptions and beliefs. Fear of death and dying seems to be a universal phenomenon, which is closely associated with apprehension and uneasiness. Death is allied with permanent loss, thus personal experiences of grief are similar in many different cultures. There are different mourning ceremonies, traditions, and behaviors to express grief, but the concept of permanent loss remains unchanged in cross cultural setting. With this paper I will identify cross-cultural perspectives on death and dying, and will analyze
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
This research explores the literature across cultures on death and dying in order to highlight the impact of culture on reactions to death and the dying process. A theoretical framework is established, using Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of dying, followed by a succinct discussion of the reactions and attitudes toward death and the dying process of four cultures (Buddhist, Hindu, Native American and American). By illustrating the different reactions and attitudes toward death of these cultures, it is revealed that through increased cultural understanding health care workers can provide more personalized care to the dying.
When an individual dies, their death can greatly impact the loved ones they leave behind. Each mourner may feel and perceive the death differently from one another, but one common factor that can influence the mourner’s beliefs, values, and views about a person’s death is their culture. Their culture can regulate the way the mourner copes with the death of a loved one, what they do with the physical deceased body, and how they may honor the dead afterwards (Cartaret, 2011). For me, my culture is relatively related to the Catholic, Hispanic American culture, which is a broad and subjective category, but it is what I believe that guides my views towards life and death. I have additionally chosen to learn about the cultural practices of Hinduism of Indians on death
Death is one of the only things guaranteed in life and most religions have meaningful and precise customs, traditions, and funerary practices revolving around death. From specific protocols for preparing the body to performing certain duties during the memorial service. The structure that religion provides around dealing with death offers guidance to grief stricken survivors and fulfills religious obligations. The two religions I chose to focus on for this paper is Buddhism more specifically the Mahayana sect of Buddhism and religion I the Mayan civilization. Mahayana Buddhism and Mayan religions have similar aspects in dealing with death and the funerary practices such as cremation.
This paper explores the many ways cultures deal with death, both before and after. Most cultures have different practices when it comes to rituals before and after death, but some rituals and beliefs are surprisingly similar. When it comes to health care, nurses need to be aware of any cultural needs of a client in this emotional time. Asking questions about what the patient and family want to happen is very important. For example, Muslims would like the same sex washing their loved one, and they would like the family to do it themselves. The nurse needs to know this to provide culturally competent care.
The body is cleansed, washed thoroughly from head to toe (Taharah). The faces of the deceased are not allowed to face down out of respect for the deceased. The body is then dried, everything is done by the members of the Burial Society and they also dress the deceased in a
Every culture, country, religion, and community has certain behavior and rituals that govern their actions when a loved one dies. These traditions and death rituals are based upon religious and spiritual beliefs. Belief on whether there is life after death and what happens to the body and soul after death.
The bodies of the dead would undergo a special ritual before they are disposed of. Religious leaders would officiate These rituals in the presence of family members or close friends to the deceased. If the deceased died in the house, those people around would assemble to clean the body. If the
The grief responses within a culture vary from person to person. It is true that societies made up of people from many cultural backgrounds. A family with members from two or more cultural backgrounds may develop its own set of rituals and customs. Furthermore, different culture may have different perspective toward death and dying. They may use different strategies to cope with their losses. By interviewed Amira, I learned many things regarding to her cultural aspect of death and dying and it was interesting topic to learn about.
Death is an unusual topic to talk about in our daily life. As we know there are more than 7 billion people living on the earth, and there are more than 4,000 religions that each person treads. Even that people are born the same and all have the same Ending, we still have different customs and traditions. From the past until now, people believe in different religions, and in those religions, people practice different things and beliefs, such as using euthenics, burial rituals, believes in the afterlife, and the end of the world.
"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." Society influences the individual’s viewpoint on death, the afterlife, and religious rites. These societal shared beliefs develop a worldview that helps give meaning, order, and purpose to the world. The need for meaning and order develops into core values at the heart of society that influence how people perceive death. This paper compares the American and Aghori Sadhu's viewpoints on death to understand their link to social values. The American consumer based culture and Aghori non-duality beliefs are opposite