alaih rajayun" (Arabic, "We are owned by God and to Him we must all return").
The funeral service is held in the courtyard or a field where large numbers of people may be able to pray. The bier is placed in front and all arranged in facing it. The imām, or priest, leads the prayer. All fold their arms, one over the other, round their waist, direct their gaze downwards at the words of allāho akbar—God is Great—from the imām, and a silent prayer is read for the peace of the soul.
When the prayer is over the bier is carried to the grave, and all the mourners follow in procession, repeating prayers for the dead. The grave which has been prepared beforehand, consists of a ditch six feet deep, with an underground chamber running to the right side in which the body is to be placed. This chamber is called baghlī or caress.
It is the custom that if anyone meets a funeral procession in his way, whether he knows the person or not, he must accompany it for at least forty steps and repeat the prayer for the dead. If he is in a carriage or riding a horse he must come down and join the mourners, and must not pass the janāza, but wait till the procession passes before he continues his journey.
When the bier reaches the grave, two men descend into the grave and the corpse is lowered gently, and placed in the chamber. The direction of the grave is determined according to the situation in which lies the Holy City, Mecca. The feet of the dead must be towards the west, and the head to the east, the face being towards Mecca. When the men come out of the grave, a short prayer is repeated by all who are standing round. Then the boards are placed in position and a mat laid over them and the earth is thrown in. All the mourners throw down handfuls of earth, and finally the grave is closed and a mound raised over it. A temporary grave-stone is erected and below it a small lamp burns feebly. Men are appointed to watch the grave
