KHARON

Thanatology Review

Electronic Journal

Content

Volume 12

Number 3-4 · 2008

Short article


 ERZSÉBET IGARI
ERZSÉBET IGARI

egyetemi hallgató

zsokababee@gmail.com

Funeral traditions in Felsőváros and Sárkeresztes (suburbs of Székesfehérvár)

Abstract · Death has always been a part of life and this fact was managed naturally by earlier generations. Thanks to that, numerous customs were attached to it, for example customs related to the wake, the funeral ceremony or the mourning period. The sad truth is that in most of the places people have already forgotten how to say the proper goodbye to their loved ones. Because of this, it is very surprising that in parts of Székesfehérvár, a city with more than 100, 000 inhabitants, we can even nowadays meet traditional funeral customs. In my study, I compare some of these traditions with the similar folk customs of Sárkeresztes, a tiny village next to Székesfehérvár.

 ALEXANDRA AMIRA ALKAYSI
ALEXANDRA AMIRA ALKAYSI

egyetemi hallgató

alkalexandra@gmail.com

Death and burial in Islam

Összefoglalás · Burying deceased relatives is an important duty in the life of a Muslim: a duty to be carried out in accordance with particular customs and the laws in force as of today. This study, written by a practising Muslim, discusses the behaviours and attitudes prescribed in Islamic faith in relation to death, dying and burial. The Muslims are not only bound to take care of the dying person but also to perform the last rites in appropriate fashion after their death. According to Islamic teaching, the body is not eternal, but it is still to be respected, since one day, the dead will return to God, and they will be raised within the same body, to face the weight of their deeds on earth.

In Islam, death is an important stage between the finite and the infinite,
between temporal and everlasting life. Since death is the end of our earthly life – after death,
we are no longer able to carry out good deeds and to repent our sins;
and it is also the beginning of our true, eternal, transcendent life.
1

And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement.
And indeed, the home of the Hereafter - that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.
2


1 SHUBAIL MOHAMED EISA: Az imádkozás könyve. [The Book of Prayer] Iszlám Kultúráért Egyesület, 2002. 109.
2 Quran, 29: 64