Esoteric Shia burial

An Esoteric Shia woman lights a candle upon partaking in a vigil to watch over a deceased person before burial.

An Esoteric Shia burial is a burial of a deceased person that corresponds to Esoteric Shia rites and jurisprudence. Esoteric Shi'ism teaches that the responsibility for carrying out burial rites for a deceased Esoteric Shia falls to the entire Esoteric Shia community in which the deceased lived. This means that when an Esoteric Shia dies, the Esoteric Shia community typically takes on the responsibility of ensuring that the deceased's funeral ceremonies are properly carried out, easing the burden on the deceased's family and relatives. In modern times, the Local Jurisdiction of the Shia Convocation plays an active role in carrying out this duty.

Esoteric Shias view death as the end of a temporal life and the beginning of eternal life. They believe that the human body is a vessel or temple of the spirit and for that reason it is given the utmost respect after death. Esoteric Shia rites surrounding death are performed to ensure high consideration and regard is duly given to the human body as a mark of respect to the person who once inhabited it.

The particularities and customs surrounding death and funeral may differ from one Esoteric Shia community to the other due to cultural variance, but a fundamental aspect of an Esoteric Shia burial is the prohibition of cremation. Cremation is viewed as a violation of the laws of nature according to which living things must undergo a process of decomposition naturally after death. Esoteric Shias maintain that cremation prevents the body from partaking in the natural chain of life and supplying nutrients and other elements necessary for other living things after death. It is for this reason that Esoteric Shias bury their dead in the earth. Another key component of an Esoteric Shia burial is the prohibition of embalming. Embalming is permitted if the body must travel a great distance to its final resting place, but otherwise it is forbidden.

History

Early Esoteric Shia burials

A lawh manqush uncovered at an archaeological site in Maqtajer by the Koninklijk Nederlands Indische Oudheidkundige Dienst (KNIOD) in 1948.

Evidence of Esoteric Shia burials dating to the 10th century have been found in eastern Maqtajer, notably in frontier regions near the border with Hindia Belanda. In most cases, these burials contained a small pendant made of steel, iron and bronze with an inscription in Riysan that says "We come from God and unto Him we shall return, holding fast to Him who art the Compassionate and Merciful". The origins of the Esoteric Shia tradition of burying the deceased with a pendant placed within the funeral shroud are unknown, but the prevalence of this practice across all cultural groups demonstrates that it was a pan-Esoteric Shia norm then as it is today.

In Early Shi'ism, prior to the Sythithian Shia Schism of 1068, the practice of placing a stone tablet (lawh manqush) with the name of the deceased within the grave was commonplace. Several archaeological sites in Maqtajer have uncovered these stone tablets (alwah manqush), which have been carbon-dated to the 10th and 9th century. Sometime before or after the Sythithian Shia Schism, this practice was supplanted by Esoteric Shias with placing a pendant made of steel, iron or bronze, inscribing a formulaic prayer without the name of the deceased.

In addition to stone tablets and pendants, many early Esoteric Shia graves were marked with a tombstone. Whilst other Muslims who inhabited Muzdatijer at the time also marked the graves with a marker made of stone, there is a striking contrast which distinguishes Esoteric Shia tombstones from the rest, particularly with the inclusion of a lamentation over the martyrdom of the Lady Fatima. Beginning from the 12th century until at least the 15th century, Esoteric Shia tombstones were inscribed with formulaic phrases, such as a doxology and an attestation of spiritual allegiance to the Infallible Imams. This development was likely to be the result of a Farman, or decree, of one of the Auxiliary Imams at the time, given its near uniformity throughout Esoteric Shia societies in Sythith. The oldest of these tombstones found at an archeological site in Jartastı, Maqtajer, dating to the year 978 CE, bears the following inscription:

In the name of God, the Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful. Verily, the greatest of misfortunes to befell the community of the Infallible Imams (the Shias) is the departure of their Infallible Imam from the world of being, the death of our Lady Fatima and the betrayal of the Muslim community. This is the tomb of Khadija, who was the daughter of her father, Kazim son of Isaac, and the daughter of her mother, Zaynab daughter of Ibrahim. In life, she bore witness that there is none worthy of worship except God, the One and Incomparable in all things, and that the All-Merciful Lord hath, in truth, sent to each community of mankind a clear guidance. She confessed that the afterlife is a reality, that the Day of Judgement is real, and that God shall resurrect the dead from their graves. She testified that the Lord hath fashioned the soul as a thing eternal, unchanged by time. In life, she breathed whilst believing in the omnipotence of God. She pledged her spiritual allegiance to the cause of the Infallible Imams and breathed her last as their supporter. May the mercy and forgiveness of God be upon her. She passed away with three nights left to the Ras as-Sanah (New Year) of the Year 37 after the Twelfth Infallible Imam entered the Great Occultation.

Fragment of a 13th century Esoteric Shia funeral shroud, found in Jartasti in 1949 by the KNIOD.

Esoteric Shi'ism emerged out of a Yazidi milieu, resulting in the adoption of some Yazidi traditions and customs and vice versa. For instance, the Maqtajeri Yazidi prayer for the committal of the dead body into the earth, known as the Du’āya t’asmīlī a’rdē, shares certain phrases with the Esoteric Shia prayer at the graveside, known as the Dua al-taslim fi'l ard. Other factors also played an essential role in shaping the quintessential Esoteric Shia burial practices. Idealised memories of Esoteric Shia figures, particularly the Lady Fatima, as well as the lives of the twelve Infallible Imams, have contributed greatly to the formulation of Esoteric Shia funerary traditions. The ahl-i-ta'wil, an 11th century group of Esoteric Shia men and women recognised for their knowledge of hermeneutics, produced an extensive body of work on a wide range of topics with the support of the Auxiliary Imams at the time. In one of their treatises specialising on death, the ahl-i-ta'wil point to the burial of Abel, Abraham, Moses and the Lady Fatima as examples of burying the dead that has a strong scriptural basis. They also made as an example the story of the Lady Fatima on the day of her death for prescribing certain rites and practices that became formalised in Esoteric Shia teachings.

Cultural assimilation

An Esoteric Shia wake and vigil before burial. An abundance of floral arrangements is a cultural import from the Austronesian culture of Hindia Belanda.

Early Esoteric Shias in Muzdatijer, modern-day Maqtajer, adopted many local practices surrounding death and inhumation of the dead, as long as they were not explicitly idolatrous. The Yazidis of Muzdatijer buried their dead in the earth whilst the deceased's next of kin performed a funerary dance at the graveside. This practice, known to the early Esoteric Shias who lived alongside the Yazidis, was considered idolatrous and thus was rejected. As Esoteric Shias migrated to other places that make up modern-day Hindia Belanda, local Austronesian customs around death and funerals also made their way into the Esoteric Shia traditions, the most notable of which is the practice of laying floral arrangements over the casket as well as the carrying of an open parasol in the funerary processions. The Austronesians of the Hindia Belandan archipelago who adhered to Hyangism before their conversion to Esoteric Shi'ism and Lutheranism exclusively buried their dead. It is thought that this commonality was a key factor in the Austronesians' ready acceptance of the new Abrahamic religions, which were otherwise foreign to them.

From the inception of Shi'ism, cremation is seen by Shias as a violation of the laws of nature. Esoteric Shias in Astyria did not know of any culture that practices cremation until the arrival of the Exponents to the Hindia Belandan archipelago, whose books in Latin recount the old practice of cremation by their ancestors, the Romans, a practice which was equally seen in a negative light by the Catholic Exponentials.

Evening burials in early Esoteric Shi'ism

The Lady Fatima was buried by her husband, the first Infallible Imam, at night and in secret as an act of defiance against the Islamic caliphate. This practice was imitated by early Esoteric Shias of Muzdatijer.

Early Esoteric Shias of Muzdatijer often buried their dead at night to imitate the burial of the deceased Lady Fatima by her husband, the first Infallible Imam. Esoteric Shias, as with many early Shias, are known for their aversion of oral traditions, or Hadith, narrated by people other than the Lady Fatima and the twelve Infallible Imams which they considered false and libelous to the memory of the Islamic prophet. In the Kitab-i-Ma'sumin, the book of traditions considered believable at best for the Esoteric Shias, an episode of the final hours of the Lady Fatima's life became a blueprint for the practice of burying the dead in the evening.

According to one tradition, on the day of her death, the Lady Fatima instructed her maid Salma to prepare for her a bath in which she immersed herself and attained ritual purity (taharah). This practice also became a basis for a form of ablution by immersion (al-wudu al-irtimasi) which Esoteric Shias sometimes perform before doing certain religious acts in lieu of the convential and sequential ablution (al-wudu al-tartibi). Having taken a bath, the Lady Fatima asked Salma to place her bed in the middle of her living room, where she laid awaiting for the hour of her death surrounded by her husband, the first Infallible Imam, and her close companions and relatives. As her death approached, the tradition narrates that the Lady Fatima requested to be buried at night and in secret as her last political statement against the Islamic caliphate.

The funerary processions of the Lady Fatima, the tradition recounts, were attended by her close friends and allies of the first Infallible Imam. The early Esoteric Shias of Muzdatijer observed this practice until at least the 13th century, when a Farman, or decree, of the 3rd Auxiliary Imam, Siyyid Mahdi, was issued discouraging the practice for fear of bandit attacks which were prevalent in the nighttime.

Background

Esoteric Shias believe that the soul is eternal, not subject to the laws of nature, and was created before the universe came into being.

See: Esoteric Shia view on death

Esoteric Shias believe that each soul predates the conception of the body and that it was created for eternality before the creation of the universe. In life, a person's soul maintains a connection with their physical body but it is understood that the former does not actually reside within the latter. Rather, the soul to the body is as the sun to a mirror, the latter reflecting the light of the former but is not itself the source of that light. Esoteric Shias believe that the soul is not subject to the laws of nature and does not reside within the world of creation. The soul is not material and does not possess material qualities. It lacks the properties of divisibility, change, and position in time and space which are elemental qualities in physical things. Siyyid Mulla Jafar, the first Auxiliary Imam, narrated a saying from the Fourteen Infallibles regarding the immateriality and eternality of the soul.

"Thou hast, in truth, been fashioned for subsistence and not annihilation. When the hour cometh at which thou ceasest to breathe, thou shalt be taken from this house (the world) to another house (afterlife)"

— Siyyid Mulla Jafar, The Rasa'il al-Asma, Chapter XXIV

When death occurs, the connection is severed and the soul is free to progress to another plane of existence and a nearer proximity to God. The station of each soul in relation to God in the afterlife is dependent on its good deeds whilst alive. Esoteric Shias believe that a soul whose earthly existence was spent doing good and righteous deeds will occupy a lofty and felicitious station in proximity to God and saintly figures. The reverse means that the soul will be estranged from the divine presence in the afterlife. Esoteric Shias believe that a person who committed grave sins in life, such as murder and tyranny, will be punished in the afterlife, although the exact manner of which is unknown.

In Esoteric Shia teachings, death is likened to birth in a new reality, in a realm which is impossible to understand for living humans who are still fettered to the limits of the physical world. As an unborn child is oblivious to the world outside its mother's womb, the person who is still living an earthly existence has no means to understand the nature of the afterlife. After death, the soul retains its individuality and character. Esoteric Shi'ism teaches that in the afterlife, souls are able to commune and socialise with one another, to recognise each other and to remember their previous lives in the world of being. The souls who occupy a lofty station near God as a result of their good deeds are able to intercede to God on behalf of the living.

Esoteric Shia jurisprudence on death and burials

Obligations toward a dying person

When death is thought to be near, certain acts become incumbent on Esoteric Shias who are attending to the dying person.

When an Esoteric Shia is nearing death (ihtidar), other Esoteric Shias who are present in the same room or near the dying person are subject to specific jurisprudential obligations which must be fulfilled. If at least one Esoteric Shia fulfils these obligations, then other Esoteric Shias who are present are relieved of the duty. When notified of a dying person in the community, the Mualim responsible for that community will often come to minister to the dying person and provide pastoral care for the dying person's family and loved ones.

The first of these obligations is to determine whether medical help should be sought for the dying person. Current guidance from the Shia Convocation states that when a seemingly healthy person is nearing death all of a sudden, it is incumbent for all those near that person to seek out immediate medical help. If it is determined that there is nothing more to be done medically to prevent death, then other obligations become incumbent on those who are present in the same place as the dying person.

The second obligation is to approach and remain by the side of the dying person to provide companionship at the hour of their death. Those who are attending to the dying person are required to recite a special prayer called the Dua Umadavid, which contains a concise attestation of Esoteric Shia beliefs and a litany of all the prophets and their Imams, beginning from the time of Adam:

"We, verily, worship God who art above all conceptions, qualities and attributes. The All-Merciful Lord is, in truth, the Forgiver of sins and the Companion of all such as have testified to His immutable existence. Out of His immeasurable love hath He fashioned the universe, elected the most elect from amongst humankind to be bearers of His Word, caused them to proclaim His religions unto all and ordained their successors to expound the secrets of His Sublime Words. We bear witness that all creation is dependent on His existence.

The Lord our God hath sent to each community a guidance most manifest and we verily believe in all that which He hath ordained. We recognise all Prophets of aforetime, those whose names we know and those we do not. We testify that His religions are true, that His message is one and that He is One. We beseech God to send our salutations to all His Prophets and Messengers, to Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Isaac, Ismael, Jacob, Joseph, the Tribes of Israel, Lot, Shoayb, Job, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Hermes Trismegistus, Jonah, Elijah, Elias, Dhu'l-Kifl, Saul, David, Solomon, Zachariah, Jeremiah, Terakh, Habakkuk, Ezra, John the Baptist, and to Jesus Christ, his rightful successor Peter and his successors, his apostles Matthew, Philip, Bartholomew, James, Jude, John, Thomas, Andrew and Simon, and to the prophet of our time, Muhammad, his daughter Fatima and his rightful successors Ali, Hasan, Husayn, Zayn al-Abidin, Al-Baqir, Al-Sadiq, Al-Kazim, Al-Ridha, Al-Jawad, Al-Hadi, Al-Askari, and to the Hidden Imam of our time, peace be upon all of them. Then it is better for us to bow down our head in reverence to the All-Merciful, the Compassionate, the Most High, the Most Glorious, the All-Perceiving, the Loving One, He who knoweth no beginning nor end.

We, verily, came from Him and unto Him we shall return. We hold fast unto the cord of His immeasurable love and bear witness that He who hath created all things out of utter nothingness shall raise us from the dead. Unto His guiding hand and loving protection we commend our spirit in our journey to His Abode of Mercy. We, verily, came from Him and unto Him we shall return."

— The Kalimat al-Jalilih, Dua Umadavid

The third of these obligations is to relay any message which the dying person may have for his family and friends. In the Rasa'il al-Karim, the 6th Auxiliary Imam, Siyyid Ishaq, places a special emphasis on fulfilling this obligation: "Let him or her who is present beside a dying person hearken to their last words and then convey them in full to all those to whom the dying desireth that they should be sent. Let none from amongst our community neglect it, for it is an act of loving-kindness". This specific obligation is set out in the Rasa'il al-Karim, but no explanation is given as to why it is obligatory. Tahira Visser, the Esoteric Shia theologian and Chairwoman of the Continental Council for Lorecia, explains that this obligation emerged as a result of the historic Incident of Pen and Paper, an episode in the final hours of the life of Muhammad in which he was prevented from writing a last will which, in Shia view, he intended as an affirmation of the right of the first Infallible Imam to succeed him as spiritual leader.

The fourth is to acknowledge the life of the dying person by expressing gratitude, by saying "thank you" and other phrases. This obligation, however, is to be observed only by those who know the dying person in a personal capacity. It provides an opportunity to seek mutual forgiveness, express affection and to bid farewell to the dying person. The 33rd Auxiliary Imam, Siyyid Hussain al-Hakim Billah, in a letter written to Esoteric Shias of Valkea, explains that "...the purpose of this obligation is to assist the dying person in their final hour of temporal life and to affirm their dignity. It is incumbent upon all believers to offer their last respects to the dying person, and it is desirable that they should do so with a feeling of love and respect. It is not proper that one should speak ill of the dying person, nor is it right to quarell or show unwelcome behaviour in their presence".

Rules

Esoteric Shi'ism teaches that the civil law of the land must prevail over religious jurisprudence. As such, Esoteric Shias are allowed to break from specific religious rules if they are contrary to the secular law of the land in which they reside. As a rule, however, they must not cremate the dead and must try to comply as much as possible to Esoteric Shia jurisprudence in the preparation of the dead and its burial:

• Cremation is not allowed in any case;
• Embalming is prohibited unless it is absolutely necessary to preserve the body on a journey to its final resting place;
• Burial should take place as soon as possible after death, but for the dignity and honour of the deceased may be delayed to allow far-flung family and friends to pay their respects to the deceased;
• A vigil over the body must be maintained by at least one person at all times from death until burial to prevent any undue desecration and disrespect towards the body. Those who take upon this duty usually do so in shifts. As most Esoteric Shia internments take place no later than two days after death, this duty is easily discharged by friends and relatives of the deceased;
• There are jurisprudential obligations which must be fulfilled towards a dying person and their body after death;
• Specific prayers are to be said in multiple stages of the burial;
• The body must be shrouded in three layers of clothing, typically of white cotton, which covers the head completely. One of the shrouds used to wrap the deceased must bear a specific statement written in Arabic: “I came from God and to Him I return, holding fast to Him who is the Infinitely Compassionate and the Infinitely Merciful. I recognise the Fourteen Infallibles and may they advocate for me on the Day of Judgement”;
• A pendant is usually placed within the funeral shroud, which typically has the following phrase inscribed on it in Riysan: "قد بُدئت من الله ورجعت إليه منقطعا عما سواه ومتمسكاً بأسمه الرحمن الرحيم"
• The body must be transported in a closed casket to the grave and upon arriving at the grave to be interred directly in the earth with or without the casket;
• If the body is buried with a casket, the casket must be made of unfinished wood, preferably thin enough to allow for a fast degradation of the casket and, before closing, filled with soil;
• When interring the body within the grave, the feet of the deceased must point toward the east;
• The Dua Umadavid, a special prayer, is said after the body is placed in the tomb but before it is buried;

Wake and vigil

Following death, the deceased is dressed in a respectable clothing and placed in a lying position on a deathbed, if it is not already in it. Typically, a number of persons take the duty of watching over the body from the moment of death until burial. This is done to guard the body from desecration and disrespect and as a mark of kindness to the person who once inhabited the body. During the wake and vigil, those who are watching over the body normally abstain from eating and drinking. As such, this duty is usually discharged in shifts by multiple people.

Esoteric Shia burials normally take place no later than two days after death, but this may be delayed to allow far-flung family and friends to arrive and pay their respects.

Preparation

An illustration of a deceased body which has been prepared for internment according to Esoteric Shia jurisprudence. The third and outermost layer is pulled over the body at the graveside, moments before burial.

Prior to burial, the body is prepared to render it ritually pure (taharah). The stage of preparation has two steps: the washing of the body and the shrouding of the body. The preparation of the body is usually done by family members, close relatives and sometimes close friends of the deceased, assisted by a Mualim and occasionally volunteers from the Local Jurisdiction of the Shia Convocation.

The preparation of the body for burial normally takes place a few hours before internment to avoid the loss of ritual purity (taharah), as Esoteric Shia jurisprudence requires that the body of the deceased must be in a state of ritual purity upon being committed into the earth. Ritual purity, in Esoteric Shi'ism, can be lost through coming into contact with ritually impure things as well as people who are not in a state of ritual purity themselves. It is for this reason that those who prepare the body for burial must first perform ablutions.

Prior to preparing the body, those tasked with the responsibility will recite a statement in the presence of the body:

"Salutations of peace and the mercy of God be upon thee. Being obedient to the ordinances of God, I have come to prepare thy body for internment in the earth. I ask for the forgiveness of God shouldst I unknowingly display a lack of respect to thy former vessel."

During the preparation, verses from the Ta'wil al-Kabir and prayers from the Kalimat al-Jalilih are recited and an incense is usually burnt, although it is not obligatory to do so. The sequence of the preparation stage is as follows:

1. The body of the deceased is covered at all times with a white sheet of cotton to respect its privacy.
2. The body is washed three times, first with a mixture of water and attar of roses, the second and third time with pure water. All accessories and jewelry are removed. The third washing follows the formula of ablutions as done by a living Esoteric Shia. This stage renders the body ritually pure.
3. The body is dried and dressed in the first layer of burial clothing, made of white cotton, which covers the entire body and head. The hands are slid into the sleeves of the cloth.
4. The body is then dressed in the second layer of clothing.
5. The third layer of clothing is placed over the legs, which will allow it to be pulled over the entire body at the graveside before burial.

After the body is prepared, it is placed inside a casket. At this stage, it is permissible to display the enshrouded body for last viewing but nobody except those who handled the body may come into contact with it to maintain its ritual purity.

Transport

An Esoteric Shia funerary procession. The display of an open parasol and floral arrangements are cultural import of Hindia Belandan culture.

The funerary procession takes place to transport the body to its final resting place. In modern times, the casket is normally transported in a hearse with a motorcade of cars carrying relatives and friends following behind. The customs behind Esoteric Shia funerary processions originated from Anjanian funerary practices, according to which the casket is decorated with floral arrangements and an open parasol is carried in front of the casket. In Hindia Belanda particularly, pallbearers wear the traditional black beskap and a headpiece called the blangkon. The procession is carried out in a solemn manner, whilst those following behind the casket recite the last part of the Dua Umadavid:

"We, verily, came from Him and unto Him we shall return. We hold fast unto the cord of His immeasurable love and bear witness that He who hath created all things out of utter nothingness shall raise us from the dead. Unto His guiding hand and loving protection we commend our spirit in our journey to His Abode of Mercy. We, verily, came from Him and unto Him we shall return."