ABSTRACT
The variations are partly cultural and environmental, in that the process of Islamization across the world involved negotiations of already established local practices and attitudes towards death in a particular geographic setting, reflecting enduring attention given to death and funerary practices by classical and contemporary religious scholarship. This chapter presents the relevant unifying aspects of funerary culture and their textual underpinnings, and offers insights into their enactment in everyday life. Performing the ritual of disposing the remains into the earth reflects, directly and indirectly, the basic Islamic teachings about death. The Qur'an offers detailed descriptions of an eternal afterlife which follows the most crucial event in humanity's history: Resurrection. The dead must be promptly prepared for burial. The first and crucial ritual act in preparation for the burial is to wash the corpse. Much like the uncertainty surrounding the events in the grave, the questions of attending and caring for the graves have been subjected to intense discussions.
