Читать книгу A Dictionary of Islam. Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion онлайн

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Those for men comprise, 1st, a lungī, or izār, reaching from the navel down to the knees or ankle-joints; 2nd, a qamīṣ, or kurta, or alfā; its length is from the neck to the knees or ankles; 3rd, a lifāfah, or sheet, from above the head to below the feet. Women have two additional pieces of cloth: one a sīnah-band, or breast-band, extending from the arm-pits to above the ankle-joints; the other a damnī, which encircles the head once and has its two ends dangling on each side. The manner of shrouding is as follows: having placed the shrouds on a new mat and fumigated them with the smoke of perfumes, the lifāfah is spread first on the mat, over it the lungī or izār, and above that the qamīṣ; and on the latter the sīnah-band, if it be a woman; the damnī is kept separate and tied on afterwards. The corpse must be carefully brought by itself from the place where it was bathed, and laid in the shrouds. Surmah is to be applied to the eyes with a tent made of paper rolled up, with a ring, or with a pice, and camphor to seven places, viz. on the forehead, including the nose, on the palms of the hands, on the knees and great toes, after which the different shrouds are to be properly put on one after another as they lay. The colour of the shroud is to be white; no other is admissible. It is of no consequence, however, if a coloured cloth is spread over the bier; which, after the funeral, or after the fortieth day, is given away to the faqīr who resides in the burying-ground, or to any other person, in charity. Previous to shrouding the body, they tear shreds from the cloths for the purpose of tying them on; and after shrouding the body, they tie one band above the head, a second below the feet, and a third about the chest, leaving about six or seven fingers’ breadth of cloth above the head and below the feet, to admit of the ends being fastened. Should the relict of the deceased be present, they undo the cloth of the head and show her his face, and get her, in presence of two witnesses, to remit the dowry which he had settled upon her; but it is preferable that she remit it while he is still alive. Should the wife, owing to journeying, be at a distance from him, she is to remit it on receiving the intelligence of his demise.