Islam+funerals+ceremonies.

=Muslim Funeral Ceremonies=



Overview
Islam tradition is a big part of every Muslim funeral. There is a huge difference between a funeral in the U.S. or one in the Middle East or N. Africa. Muslim funerals in their home country starts something like this. Before the ceremony the body is soaked and cleansed out. That can be compared to Jewish funerals that do the same. Then after the body is cleansed it is driven to a public place so that the prayers can be read to all of the onlookers. Muslims also strongly ban cremation and think it is unholy like Jewish funerals

Outside of the mosque
The prayers said outside the mosque are called the Salat-Y-Janazah. These prayers are to inform the people about the death. To inform them who it was which is like a Eulogy and also is read to commemorate the deceased with a reading from the Torah. The only difference between the five daily prayers and the Salat-Y-Janazah is there is no bowing or nodding. It is only a short time before th body is wheeled inside the mosque to complete the ceremony

Inside the mosque
Inside of the mosque only the Imam and immediate friends and family are allowed to come in. This is the holiest period of the funeral because the Imam reads the holy Takbiir from the Torah. The Takbiir is said to comemorate the person to go to Allah by chanting Allah Akbar (Praise Allah) four times. After that is done the ceremony is completed and the body is put underground and the funeral is over.

Jewish and Islam funeral differences and similarities
There are so many different ways to compare the two. Jews do not look at the burial as a sad or negative time but a time where they see a Jewish person go to god. Muslim funerals are not the same. They look at death in a different way and believe that it is the end of the cycle of life and you shall be judged by Allah in the gates of heaven. Jews and Muslims also both are strongly against cremation over burial but for two different reasons. Muslims believe that it is unholy to die in ashes while Jews believe all of us should be in pine boxes because we should all be treated the same in the eyes of god. In Muslim funerals the holiest part is the reading of the Takbiir which is saying praise Allah four times. In Judaism the holiest part of the ceremony is the reading of the Kaddish which symbolizes the person going to god. Jews have the Rabbi of the Synogoauge where the dead person was a part of read condolences and the Kaddish. This is a lot like in Islam where there is a Imam who reads both the Salat-Y-Janazah and the holy Takbiir. Another big comparison is the venue in which the two are put to rest. The Jewish ceremony can start in the synogauge or start at the cemetery. In Islam the ceremony at first begins in a public place then in the Mosque then at the cemetery. While immigrant Muslims who live in the western world skip the first step outside in public and usually have most of the cemetery within the mosque.