Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Just a little bit

Although religiosity and I are complete strangers, the sound of a Muslim funeral prayer* echoing through the neighbourhood over the still air on a warm, humid day granted me a glimpse in to a world that is not mine.

* At least, I assume that's what it was; I don't know the words. I mean, 3 p.m. is kind of in-between prayer times, isn't it?

3 comments:

Snuze said...

Ah ... Muslim funerals are usually conducted as soon as possible post-mortem. There are no wake, no viewing. You may postpone the funeral to wait for out of state relatives, but usually you don't. We consider it a cruelty to the deceased to leave them unburied.3 pm usually mean the deceased passed some time in the late morning.

Angela Gripesalot said...

Oh like that huh. Maybe it was a wedding. Do they do prayers like that for weddings? Could I sound any blonder?

Snuze said...

Any blonder? *rolls on the floor laughing hysterically*

Well, there are certain prayers that is pretty catch all, like Al-Fatihah, which is the opening prayer. That one is used ALL the time: during obligational prayers, weddings, doa selamat etc.

We don't have a funeral specific prayers; rituals yes. Example, the funerary prayer is conducted facing the deceased, but without prostration.

For Malaysian Muslims, there is this bit called talkin, which is recited at the cemetery after the grave has been covered with soil. The talkin is like a guide to the deceased on how to answer the questions put forth by the angels who will come to them after death. Kinda like an exam where you need to give the right answer to get to where you want to go. It's actually more of a reminder to those still living that death is just around the corner and that you should live your life with that in mind.

*grin*