When a servant rebelleth against Him, He protecteth.”
The school-boys immediately precede the bier, which is borne head-foremost. Three or four friends of the deceased usually carry it for a short distance: then three or four other friends bear it a little farther; and then these are in like manner relieved. Casual passengers also often take part in this service, which is esteemed highly meritorious. Behind the bier walk the female mourners; sometimes a group of more than a dozen, or twenty; with their hair dishevelled, though generally concealed by the head-veil; crying and shrieking, as before described; and often the hired mourners accompany them, celebrating the praises of the deceased. Among the women, the relations and domestics of the deceased are each distinguished by a strip of linen or cotton stuff or muslin, generally blue, bound round the head, and tied in a single knot behind, the ends hanging down a few inches.[[619]] Each of these also carries a handkerchief, usually dyed blue; which she sometimes holds over her shoulders, and at other times twirls with both hands over her head, or before her face. The cries of the women, the lively chanting of the youths, and the deep tones uttered by the Yemeneeyeh, compose a strange discord.
The wailing of women at funerals was forbidden by the Prophet; and so, also, was the celebration of the virtues of the deceased. Mohammad declared, that the virtues thus ascribed to a dead person would be subjects of reproach to him, if he did not possess them, in a future state. It is astonishing to see how some of the precepts of the Prophet are every day violated by all classes of the modern Muslims; the Wahhábees alone excepted.—I have sometimes seen mourning women of the lower classes, following a bier, having their faces (which were bare), and their head-coverings and bosoms, besmeared with mud.[[620]]
The funeral-procession of a man of wealth, or of a person of the middle classes, is sometimes preceded by three or four or more camels, bearing bread and water to give to the poor at the tomb; and is composed of a more numerous and varied assemblage of persons. The foremost of these are the Yemeneeyeh, who chant the profession of the faith, as described above. They are generally followed by some male friends of the deceased, and some learned and devout persons who have been invited to attend the funeral. Next follows a group of four or more fikees, chanting the “Soorat el-Anám” (the 6th chapter of the Kur-án); and sometimes, another group, chanting the “Soorat Yá-Seen” (the 36th chapter); another, chanting the “Soorat el-Kahf” (the 18th chapter); and another, chanting the “Soorat ed-Dukhán” (the 44th chapter). These are followed by some munshids, singing the “Burdeh;” and these by certain persons called “As-háb el-Ahzáb,” who are members of religious orders founded by celebrated sheykhs. There are generally four or more of the order of the Hezb es-Sádát; a similar group of the Hezb Esh-Sházilee; and another of the Hezb Esh-Shaaráwee: each group chants a particular form of prayer. After them are generally borne two or more half-furled flags, the banners of one or other of the principal orders of darweeshes. Then follow the schoolboys, the bier, and the female mourners, as in the procession before described; and, perhaps, the led horses of the bearers, if these be men of rank. A buffalo, to be sacrificed at the tomb, where its flesh is to be distributed to the poor, sometimes closes the procession.
The funeral of a devout sheykh, or of one of the great Ulama, is still more numerously attended; and the bier of such a person is not covered with a shawl. A “welee” is further honoured in his funeral by a remarkable custom. Women follow his bier; but, instead of wailing, as they would after the corpse of an ordinary mortal, they rend the air with the shrill and quavering cries of joy called “zagháreet;” and if these cries are discontinued but for a minute, the bearers of the bier protest that they cannot proceed; that a supernatural power rivets them to the spot on which they stand. Very often, it is said, a welee impels the bearers of his corpse to a particular spot.—The following anecdote, describing an ingenious mode of puzzling a dead saint in a case of this kind, was related to me by one of my friends.—Some men were lately bearing the corpse of a welee to a tomb prepared for it in the great cemetery on the north of the metropolis; but, on arriving at the gate called Báb en-Nasr, which leads to this cemetery, they found themselves unable to proceed farther from the cause above mentioned. “It seems,” said one of the bearers, “that the sheykh is determined not to be buried in the cemetery of Báb en-Nasr: and what shall we do?” They were all much perplexed: but being as obstinate as the saint himself, they did not immediately yield to his caprice. Retreating a few paces, and then advancing with a quick step, they thought, by such an impetus, to force the corpse through the gateway; but their efforts were unsuccessful; and the same experiment they repeated in vain several times. They then placed the bier on the ground to rest and consult; and one of them, beckoning away his comrades to a distance beyond the hearing of the dead saint, said to them, “Let us take up the bier again, and turn it round quickly several times till the sheykh becomes giddy; he then will not know in what direction we are going, and we may take him easily through the gate.” This they did; the saint was puzzled as they expected; and quietly buried in the place which he had so striven to avoid.
The biers used for the conveyance of the corpses of females and boys are different from those of men. They are furnished with a cover of wood, over which a shawl is spread, as over the bier of a man; and at the head is an upright piece of wood, called a “sháhid.” The sháhid is covered with a shawl; and to the upper part of it, when the bier is used to convey the body of a female of the middle or higher class, several ornaments of female head-dress are attached: on the top, which is flat and circular, is often placed a “kurs” (the round ornament of gold or silver set with diamonds, or of embossed gold, which is worn on the crown of the head-dress): to the back is suspended the “safa” (or a number of braids of black silk with gold ornaments along each, which are worn by the ladies, in addition to their plaits of hair, hanging down the back). The bier of a boy is distinguished by a turban, generally formed of a red Kashmeer shawl, wound round the top of the sháhid; which, in the case of a young boy, is also often decorated with the kurs and safa. The corpse of a very young child is carried to the tomb in the arms of a man, and merely covered with a shawl; or, in a very small bier borne on a mans head.
In the funerals of females and boys, the bier is usually only preceded by the Yemeneeyeh, chanting the profession of faith, and by some male relations of the deceased; and followed by the female mourners; unless the deceased were of a family of wealth, or of considerable station in the world; in which case, the funeral-procession is distinguished by some additional display. I shall give a short description of one of the most genteel and decorous funerals of this kind that I have witnessed: it was that of a young, unmarried lady.—Two men, each bearing a large, furled, green flag, headed the procession, preceding the Yemeneeyeh, who chanted in an unusually low and solemn manner. These fakeers, who were in number about eight, were followed by a group of fikees, chanting a chapter of the Kur-án. Next after the latter was a man bearing a large branch of “nabk” (or lote-tree), an emblem of the deceased.[[621]] On each side of him walked a person bearing a tall staff or cane, to the top of which were attached several hoops ornamented with strips of various-coloured paper. These were followed by two Turkish soldiers, side by side; one bearing, on a small round tray, a gilt silver “kumkum” of rose-water; and the other bearing, on a similar tray, a “mibkhar′ah” of gilt silver, in which some odoriferous substance (as benzoin, or frankincense) was burning. These vessels diffused the odour of their contents on the way; and were afterwards used to perfume the sepulchral vault. Passengers were occasionally sprinkled with the rose-water. Next followed four men, each of whom bore, upon a small tray, several small lighted tapers of wax, stuck in lumps of paste of “henna.” The bier was covered with rich shawls; and its sháhid was decorated with handsome ornaments of the head; having, besides the safa, a “kussah almás” (a long ornament of gold and diamonds, worn over the forehead), and, upon its flat top, a rich diamond kurs. These were the jewels of the deceased; or were perhaps, as is often the case, borrowed for the occasion. The female mourners, in number about seven or eight, clad in the usual manner of the ladies of Egypt (with the black silk covering, etc.), followed the bier, not on foot, as is the common custom in funerals in this country, but mounted on high-saddled asses; and only the last two or three of them were wailing; these being, probably, hired mourners.—In another funeral-procession of a female, the daughter of a Turk of high rank, the Yemeneeyeh were followed by six black slaves, walking two by two. The first two slaves bore each a silver kumkum of rose-water, which they sprinkled on the passengers; and one of them honoured me so profusely as to wet my dress very uncomfortably; after which, he poured a small quantity into my hands; and I wetted my face with it, according to custom. Each of the next two bore a silver mibkhar′ah, with perfume; and the other two carried each a silver ázkee (or hanging censer), with burning charcoal and frankincense. The jewels on the sháhid of the bier were of a costly description. Eleven ladies, mounted on high-saddled asses, together with several neddábehs, followed.
The rites and ceremonies performed in the mosque, and at the tomb, and after the funeral, remain to be described.—If the deceased died in any of the northern quarters of the metropolis, the body is usually carried, in preference, to the mosque of the Hasaneyn; unless he were a poor man, not residing near to that venerated sanctuary; in which case, his friends generally carry his corpse to any neighbouring mosque, to save time, and avoid unnecessary expense. If he were one of the ulama (that is, of a learned profession, however humble), his corpse is usually taken to the great mosque El-Azhar. The people of the southern parts of the metropolis generally carry their dead to the mosque of the seyyideh Zeyneb, or to that of any other celebrated saint. The reason of choosing such mosques in preference to others, is the belief that the prayers offered up at the tombs of very holy persons are especially successful.
The bier, being brought into the mosque, is laid upon the floor, in the usual place of prayer, with the right side towards the kibleh, or the direction of Mekkeh. The “Imám” of the mosque stands before the left side of the bier, facing it and the kibleh; and a servant of the mosque, as a “muballigh” (to repeat the words of the Imám), at the feet. The attendants of the funeral range themselves behind the Imám; the women standing apart, behind the men; for on this occasion they are seldom excluded from the mosque. The congregation being thus disposed, the Imám commences the prayer over the dead; prefacing it with these words:[[622]]—“I purpose reciting the prayer of four ‘tekbeers,’[[623]] the funeral-prayer, over the deceased Muslim here present:”—or—“the deceased Muslims here present:” for two or more corpses are often prayed over at the same time. Having said this, he exclaims (raising his open hands on each side of his head, and touching the lobes of his ears with the extremities of his thumbs), “God is most great!” The muballigh repeats this exclamation; and each individual of the congregation behind the Imám does the same; as they also do after the subsequent tekbeers. The Imám then recites the Fát’hah; and a second time exclaims, “God is most great!” after which he adds, “O God, favour our lord Mohammad, the Illiterate Prophet, and his Family and Companions, and preserve them”—and the third time exclaims, “God is most great!” He then says, “O God, verily this is thy servant and son of Thy servant: he hath departed from the repose of the world, and from its amplitude,[[624]] and from whatever he loved, and from those by whom he was loved in it, to the darkness of the grave, and to what he experienceth. He did testify that there is no deity but Thou alone: that Thou hast no companion: and that Mohammad is thy servant and thine apostle; and Thou art all-knowing respecting him. O God, he hath gone to abide with Thee; and Thou art the best with whom to abide. He hath become in need of Thy mercy; and Thou hast no need of his punishment. We have come to Thee, supplicating that we may intercede for him. O God, if he were a doer of good, over-reckon his good deeds; and if he were an evil-doer, pass over his evil doings; and of Thy mercy grant that he may experience Thine acceptance; and spare him the trial of the grave, and its torment; and make his grave wide to him; and keep back the earth from his sides;[[625]] and of Thy mercy grant that he may experience security from Thy torment, until Thou send him safely to Thy Paradise, O Thou most merciful of those who show mercy!” Then, for the fourth and last time, the Imám exclaims, “God is most great!”—adding,—“O God, deny us not our reward for him [for the service we have done him]; and lead us not into trial after him: pardon us and him and all the Muslims, O Lord of all creatures!”—Thus he finishes his prayer; greeting the angels on his right and left with the salutation of “Peace be on you, and the mercy of God;” as is done at the close of the ordinary prayers. Then, addressing the persons present, he says, “Give your testimony respecting him.” They reply, “He was of the virtuous.”—The bier is now taken up; and if it be in the mosque of the Hasaneyn, or in that of any other celebrated saint, that the prayer has been performed, it is placed before the “maksoorah” (the screen or railing that surrounds the sepulchral monument or cenotaph). Here, some of the fikees and others who have attended the funeral recite the Fát’hah, and the last three verses of the “Soorat el-Bakarah”[el-Bakarah”] (or 2nd chapter of the Kur-án); beginning, “Whatever is in heaven and on earth is God’s.”—These rites performed, the funeral-train proceeds with the corpse, in the same order as before, to the burial-ground.[[626]]
Here I must give a short description of a tomb.—It is an oblong vault, having an arched roof; and is generally constructed of brick, and plastered. It is made hollow, in order that the person or persons buried in it may be able with ease to sit up when visited and examined by the two angels, “Munkar” (vulgarly “Nákir”) and “Nekeer.” One side faces the direction of Mekkeh; that is, the south-east. At the foot, which is to the north-east, is the entrance; before which is constructed a small square cell, roofed with stones extending from side to side, to prevent the earth from entering the vault. This is covered over with earth. The vault is generally made large enough to contain four or more bodies. If males and females be buried in the same vault, which is not commonly the case, a partition is built to separate the corpses of one sex from those of the other. Over the vault is constructed an oblong monument (called “tarkeebeh”), of stone or brick, with a stela, or upright stone (called a “sháhid”), at the head and foot. The stelæ are mostly plain; but some of them are ornamented; and that at the head is often inscribed with a text from the Kur-án,[[627]] and the name of the deceased, with the date of his death. A turban, cap, or other head-dress, is also sometimes carved on the top of the head-stone; showing the rank or class of the person or persons buried in the tomb.—Over the grave of an eminent sheykh, or other person of note, a small square building, crowned with a cupola, is generally erected.[[628]] Many of the tombs of Turkish and Memlook grandees have marble tarkeebehs, which are canopied by cupolas supported by four columns of marble; and have inscriptions in gilt letters upon a ground of azure on the head-stone. There are numerous tombs of this description in the great southern cemetery of Cairo. The tombs of the Sultáns are mostly handsome mosques: some of these are within the metropolis; and some, in the cemeteries in its environs.—I now resume the description of the funeral.