and one or two Mullas having read passages from the Koran, the party wend their way back to their respective homes.
It may be mentioned here that in some cases, the chamber in which the body rests is constructed of bricks and a space two feet high is left below the covering planks. It is believed that when the horn is sounded on the Day of Judgment, all the dead will arise. It is desired that when they awake, their eyes will gaze at the Holy Kaba at Mecca. The space left above the grave is the height of an average man when he sits erect, as everyone will sit when he hears the last summons.
The chambers of many graves are not lined with bricks, nor are any structures placed over them, for some people think that the body will have a hard struggle in leaving the grave at the Blowing of the Horn, if the graves are covered with cement and stones.
After the burial the chief mourners return to the house of the deceased. There the head of the Clan addresses the women folk, counselling them not to grieve, for it was the will of Allah that So-and-so has died and that his soul should be accorded Divine Acceptance. Then the party is asked to dine, and after a prayer they disperse.
The widow and the female relatives of the deceased wear no colours and no ornaments. Some widows never again use colours, but always appear in pure white without ornaments.
Feasts called jum‘arātī (Persian, of Thursday), are held every Thursday, and mourners are invited to dinner and to read the Korān for the dead. Similar ceremonies are also observed on the fourteenth day and the fortieth day after the death. On the fortieth day, which is called chahlum, friends and relations come from far and near to join in the mourning, and all go to the grave to pray there. The women attend on this occasion. When a relation comes from a distance to join in the chahlum, one who has not
