Draft:Cemetery
Cemetery (Arabic: المقبرة) is a site designated for the burial of the deceased. In Muslim culture, the cemetery is considered a respected place. Visiting cemeteries and the visitation of graves are among the religious and cultural practices commonly observed by Muslims. According to narrations, the Wadi al-Salam cemetery in Najaf holds importance and superiority among cemeteries. Some Muslim cemeteries, such as Al-Baqi', al-Ma'lā, Takht-e Fulad, Bab al-Saghir, and Shaykhan, are famous. Islamic texts contain religious rulings and etiquettes specific to cemeteries, including greeting the dead, maintaining the respect and cleanliness of the cemetery, and the prohibition of burying disbelievers in Muslim cemeteries.
Concept and Importance
A cemetery is a place where the dead are buried.[1] In religious teachings and Muslim culture, the cemetery is considered a respected place.[2] Among the cemeteries of Muslims, some like al-Baqi'[3] and Wadi al-Salam[4] hold a special status. Due to their devotion to the Imams (a) and their descendants, the Shi'a often prefer to bury their deceased near the shrines associated with them.[5]
Famous Cemeteries
- Wadi al-Salam: A large and historical cemetery in the city of Najaf, which is important for Shi'as due to the existence of hadiths about its virtue. Two tombs attributed to Prophet Hud and Prophet Salih are also located in this cemetery.[6]
- Al-Baqi': The oldest Muslim cemetery located in Medina near Al-Masjid al-Nabawi.[7] Four Shi'a Imams, namely Imam al-Hasan (a), Imam al-Sajjad (a), Imam al-Baqir (a), and Imam al-Sadiq (a), are buried in this cemetery.[8]
- Wadi Ayman: An old cemetery in Karbala located southeast of the Shrine of al-Abbas (a).[9]
- Al-Ma'lat: An old cemetery located in the northeast of Mecca.[10] The ancestors of the Prophet (s), ʿAbd Manaf, Hashim, and Abd al-Muttalib, are buried there.[11]
- Ibn Babewayh: A large and historical cemetery in Rey (Shahr-e Rey), dating back to the era of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.[12]
- Bab al-Saghir: An old cemetery in Damascus and the burial place of some children of the Shi'a Imams, Sahaba, and Tabi'un.[13] Its history dates back to the early years of Islam's arrival in the Levant (Sham). The Maqam Ra's al-Shuhada (burial place of the heads of the Martyrs of Karbala) is located near Bab al-Saghir.[14]
- Dar al-Salam: One of the oldest historical cemeteries in Iran located in Shiraz, dating back to the 3rd/9th and 4th/10th centuries.[15]
- Shaykhan: A cemetery in Qom where the shrines of two famous Muhaddiths (scholars of Hadith), Zakariyya b. Idris and Zakariyya b. Ādam, are located, hence acquiring the name Shaykhan.[16]
- Nuw Cemetery: In 1929, the Babilan cemetery of Qom was destroyed by the Pahlavi government, and a new cemetery replaced it, which became known as Nuw Cemetery (lit. the New Cemetery).[17]
- Takht-i Fulad: An old cemetery in Isfahan which is considered one of the historical and cultural sites of Iran due to the celebrities buried there and the presence of historical monuments.[18]
- Behesht-e Zahra: A large cemetery in the south of Tehran built in 1970(1349 Sh), and later named Behesht-e Zahra (a) [19]
- Helsinki Islamic Cemetery: The oldest Muslim cemetery in Scandinavia, built in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, in 1870, and exclusively used for Muslim burials.[20]
Rulings and Etiquettes
In Islamic texts, rulings and etiquettes have been mentioned for the cemetery, including greeting the dead, maintaining the respect and cleanliness of the cemetery, and the prohibition of burying disbelievers in Muslim cemeteries:[21]
- Greeting the dead: Al-Allama al-Majlisi in Bihar al-anwar, mentionsthe etiquette of visiting believers, quotes a hadith in which Imam Ali (a) said in the visitation of the people of the graves:
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful. Peace be upon the people of "There is no god but Allah" from the people of "There is no god but Allah". O people of "There is no god but Allah", for the sake of "There is no god but Allah", how did you find the word "There is no god but Allah" from "There is no god but Allah"? O "There is no god but Allah", for the sake of "There is no god but Allah", forgive those who said "There is no god but Allah" and resurrect us in the group of those who said "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Ali is the Wali of Allah".[22]
- Maintaining cleanliness, purity, and respect of the cemetery: Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Tabataba'i Yazdi, in the book al-Urwa al-wuthqa, has considered making graves impure (najis) and dirty, laughing in the cemetery, and walking on graves as Makruh (disliked).[23]
- Not renovating the cemetery: Some jurists consider the renovation of a cemetery after its destruction to be Makruh; except in cases of graves belonging to Prophets, Imams, and scholars.[24]
- Not Burying disbelievers in Muslim cemeteries: According to the fatwa of jurists, burying nonbelievers (Kuffar) in Muslim cemeteries is not permissible.[25]
Ziyara of Graves
According to Ja'far Subhani, visiting the grave of the Prophet (s), his Ahl al-Bayt, and the graves of believers is among principles of Islamic culture.[26]
Gallery
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Takht-i Fulad Cemetery in Isfahan -
Bab al-Saghir Cemetery in Damascus -
Al-Baqi' Cemetery in Medina -
Wadi al-Salam Cemetery in Najaf -
![Installation of a board with greeting to the people of the graves in a cemetery in Iran (2019)[27]](http://commons.wikishia.net/w/images/thumb/8/81/%D8%AF%D8%B9%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%84_%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B1.jpg/217px-%D8%AF%D8%B9%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%84_%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B1.jpg)
Installation of a board with greeting to the people of the graves in a cemetery in Iran (2019)[27] -
Inscription of Shahadatayn on the gravestones of Muslims in Europe
![Installation of a board with greeting to the people of the graves in a cemetery in Iran (2019)[27]](/view/File:%D8%AF%D8%B9%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%84_%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B1.jpg)
Notes
- ↑ ʿAmīd, Farhang-i Fārsī-yi ʿAmīd, under the word "Qabr"; Anvarī, Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan, under the word "Qabr".
- ↑ Laṭīfī, "Iḥtirām bi qubūr-i buzurgān-i dīn sīra-yi aʾimma-yi chahārgāna-yi Ahl-i Sunnat ast", News Agency-yi Shabestan.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, 1390 Sh, pp. 353-356.
- ↑ ʿAbd al-Ṣāḥib Muẓaffar, "Barrasī-yi tārīkh-i khāk-sipārī dar Najaf wa Wādī al-Salām", p. 1.
- ↑ Faqīh Baḥr al-ʿUlūm, "Tārīkhcha-yi intiqāl-i janāʾiz bi ʿAtabāt-i ʿĀliyāt (shahr-i Karbalā)", p. 1.
- ↑ ʿAbd al-Ṣāḥib Muẓaffar, "Barrasī-yi tārīkh-i khāk-sipārī dar Najaf wa Wādī al-Salām", p. 1.
- ↑ Rifʿat Pāshā, Mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn, 1377 Sh, p. 447.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, 1390 Sh, pp. 353-356.
- ↑ Nabavī, "Nīm-rūzī dar Wādī Ayman", p. 287.
- ↑ Qāʾidān, Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka Mukarrama wa Madīna Munawwara, 1384 Sh, p. 129.
- ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, p. 433.
- ↑ Manṣūrī, "Shinākht-i ʿavāmil-i muʾaththir dar shiklgīrī-yi gūristānhā-yi tārīkhī", p. 22.
- ↑ Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, 1995, vol. 2, p. 468.
- ↑ Fihrī, Marāqid Ahl al-Bayt, 1428 AH, pp. 39-40.
- ↑ Shaybānī et al., "Shinākht wa barrasī-yi maḍāmīn wa nuqūsh-i taṣvīrī-yi gūristān-i Dār al-Salām-i Shīrāz", p. 3.
- ↑ Aḥmadiyān, Shaykhān-i Qom, 1383 Sh, pp. 32-35.
- ↑ "Qabristān-i Now dar intiẓār-i nigāh-i now", Pāygāh-i Khabarī-yi Qom Goya.
- ↑ Turkī, "Naqsh-i ārāmistānhā dar barnāma-rīzī-yi tawsiʿa wa rushd-i gardishgarī-yi madhhabī...", p. 56.
- ↑ Khāvarī, "Bihisht-i Zahrā (s)", p. 822.
- ↑ "Māh wa sitāra vīzhagī-yi qadīmī-tarīn qabristān-i musalmānān dar Iskāndīnāvī", Website-i News Agency-yi Shabestan.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 128; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 99, p. 301.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 99, p. 301.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 128.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 128.
- ↑ Āqābābāyī Banī, "Taʾammulī bar tafkīk-i qubūr-i musalmānān az ghayr-i musalmānān", p. 1.
- ↑ Subḥānī, Manshūr-i ʿaqāyid-i Imāmiyya, 1376 Sh, p. 254.
- ↑ "ʿAks-i tāblū-yi mazār-i shuhadā wa gulzār-i shuhadā-yi ustān-i Khūzistān", Ghāb-i ʿIshq.
References
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- Aḥmadiyān, Mīnā. Shaykhān-i Qom: Zindagīnāma-yi buzurgān-i madfūn dar Shaykhān-i Kabīr. Qom, Intishārāt-i Dalīl-i Mā, 1383 Sh.
- "Ākharīn panjshanba-yi sāl-i 99 - Ārāmistān-i Arāk". News Agency-yi ISNA. Posted: 28 Esfand 1399 Sh. Accessed: 18 Tir 1403 Sh.
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- ʿAmīd, Ḥasan. Farhang-i Fārsī-yi ʿAmīd. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Amīrkabīr, 1375 Sh.
- Anvarī, Ḥasan. Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Sukhan, 1381 Sh.
- Āqābābāyī Banī, Ismāʿīl. "Taʾammulī bar tafkīk-i qubūr-i musalmānān az ghayr-i musalmānān".
- Azraqī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Kitāb akhbār Makka. Göttingen, 1275 AH.
- Faqīh Baḥr al-ʿUlūm, Muḥammad Mahdī. "Tārīkhcha-yi intiqāl-i janāʾiz bi ʿAtabāt-i ʿĀliyāt (shahr-i Karbalā)". In Faṣlnāma-yi Farhang-i Ziyārat, vol. 8, no. 33, Dey 1396 Sh.
- Fihrī, Sayyid Aḥmad. Marāqid Ahl al-Bayt fī l-Shām. Syria, Maktab al-Imām al-Khāminiʾī, 1428 AH.
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- "Māh wa sitāra vīzhagī-yi qadīmī-tarīn qabristān-i musalmānān dar Iskāndīnāvī". Website-i News Agency-yi Shabestan. Posted: 22 Farvardin 1397 Sh. Accessed: 10 Ordibehesht 1402 Sh.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Manṣūrī, Kāva, Muḥammad Masʿūd, & Muḥammad Saʿīd Īzadī. "Shinākht-i ʿavāmil-i muʾaththir dar shiklgīrī-yi gūristānhā-yi tārīkhī". Bāgh-i Naẓar, year 16, Shahrivar 1398 Sh, no. 75.
- Nabavī, Aḥmad. "Nīm-rūzī dar Wādī Ayman". Faṣlnāma-yi Farhang-i Ziyārat, nos. 10 & 11, Bahār wa Tābestān 1391 Sh.
- "Qabristān-i Now dar intiẓār-i nigāh-i now". Pāygāh-i Khabarī-yi Qom Goya. Posted: 18 Ordibehesht 1402 Sh. Accessed: 25 Mordad 1402 Sh.
- Qāʾidān, Aṣghar. Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka Mukarrama wa Madīna Munawwara. Tehran, 1384 Sh.
- Rifʿat Pāshā, Ibrāhīm. Mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn. Translated by Hādī Anṣārī. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Mashʿar, 1377 Sh.
- Shaybānī, Ḥamīd Riḍā et al. "Shinākht wa barrasī-yi maḍāmīn wa nuqūsh-i taṣvīrī-yi gūristān-i Dār al-Salām-i Shīrāz". Conference of Research on Islamic and Historical Architecture and Urbanism of Iran, 1396 Sh.
- Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Manshūr-i ʿaqāyid-i Imāmiyya. Qom, Muʾassisa al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), 1376 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Sayyid Muḥammad Kāẓim. Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā. Qom, Muʾassisa-yi Nashr-i Islāmī, 1st ed., 1417 AH.
- Turkī, Zahrā. "Naqsh-i ārāmistānhā dar barnāma-rīzī-yi tawsiʿa wa rushd-i gardishgarī-yi madhhabī bi ʿunwān-i algū-yi bartar-i iqtiṣādī...". In Hamāyish-i Algū-yi Islāmī Īrānī-yi Pīshraft, 8th session, Khordad 1398 Sh.
- Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī, Yāqūt b. ʿAbd Allāh. Muʿjam al-buldān. Beirut, Dār Ṣādir, 1995.