Agarwal.

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Anukriti Agarwal

Anthropology of Islam ,

Prof Aditi Saraf

6th October, 2019

Mid Semester

Leor Halevi in his book Muhammad’s Grave writes about the paradox of Islamization. Halevi uses

the role of death and death rituals to further his understanding of Islam and the process of

Islamization. Another author, Enseng Ho and his book, Graves of Tarim aims at understanding the

same concept through a similar process. Both books discuss the role of tombs, death, death rituals,

burials, and tombstones to understand what is and what is considered Islamic and what is an

acceptable practice in Islam and what goes against the same. The two texts have also discussed the

discourse that exists behind these practices to try and understand how discourse gives rise to a

unified idea of what constitutes Islam and what does not.

Halevi uses the markings on the tombstones to analyze the gradual Islamization of the death rituals.

He goes through archives to analyze the texts inscribed on the tombstones. From the earlier

tombstones that had calls of prayer and praise for the Lord and lament for the deceased, to later

inscriptions that requested a public declaration of faith and prayer by any passerby or reader of the

tombstone to encourage a public proclamation of faith. This is crucial as Islam is one of the few

religions that is so young that it can be dated in recorded history. It developed in a time and era

where other religions already existed and had their set of practices that coincided with Muslim
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practices. It was hence important to demarcate the dead from others by creating a unique Islamic

identity that would be different from the Jewish and Christian tombstones.

Islam focuses largely on the prospect of death. The two authors have used past works, archives

and written script on the graves themselves to stake claims on what is and what is not Islamic.

Islam places a large amount of focus on the afterlife. One of the biggest draws to Islam has been

the concept of heaven and the afterlife. The treatment promised to a good Muslim after death and

the promise to be resurrected in front of Allah to stand judgment is a large part of Islamic theology

and the fear of punishment is the factor that ensures believing Muslim practices several codes of

conduct. These codes also exist for how the dead should be treated.

There are rules on the washing, the clothing, the use of cloth inside the tomb, the treatment of the

body of enemies after death and the enemy of war of other religions after death. It is against the

religion to be burnt or cremated, hence the cremation of the deceased of an enemy is considered

the greatest desecration one can bestow upon them to prevent them from being able to take form

in front of Allah of the day of judgment. Similarly, there is a discourse on how the body of

Muhammad was treated and the practices after his death are considered appropriate. There is

discourse on the use of the Quran and Quranic texts within the cemetery and during burial

processes.

The tombstones also show the journey of gradual Islamization of parts of the world as centuries

progressed. There is the narrative of the tombstone of a young girl who was likely to be the

daughter of a Christian Coptic man, George. Her tombstone is a narrative of how the converts paid
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homage to their larger Islamic family. Her tombstone, as with the tombstones of the other deceased

individuals, read prayers for the lord and the Prophet, as well as wishing salvation for Muhammad.

There is the tale of how the bringing of the Quran into the cemetery was prohibited, this raises the

discourse on the inscription of Quranic texts on the tombstones that can face desecration of my

animals or human action. As centuries have gone on, there have been more cases of documented

Quranic inscriptions on tombstones that pray for salvation and mercy and also form a division

between the practicing and believing Muslims and the idolators and non-believers. It also talks

about the Hour of Judgement and the resurrection of all those in their Graves in front of God.

The practice of having Quranic texts grew with the late eight century that symbolized a degree of

formalization within Islamic traditions. This also was symbolic as the literature on tombstones was

meant to be read out loud, This was crucial for the illiterate audience to an also be welcomes into

the fold from the experience of hearing what is inscribed and to be inspired. This meant that there

was a degree of literacy that was also expected from the reader. The requirement to say “Amen”

after the inscription was read, meant that an idolator or a non-believer in the crowd would also get

involved with this practice.

Halevi’s text in relation to Engseng Ho’s text is very crucial for understanding the growth, the

dominant discourses and the opinions on a lot of practices that are considered Islamic. All that is

perceived as Islamic, may not be so, it might be prevalent practices that exist in the area or the

culture where Islam spread and was adopted into, hence the use of discourse about these practices
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can be used by orthodox and heterodox Muslims to decide what they believe is the appropriate

way to be following Islam.

Traditionalists will believe that there is a certain right and wrong way of conduct for everything,

including the right way to cut nails to pray, these are based on the Hadiths that exist on these issues.

On the other hand, non-traditionalists will argue that all that is written in the Quran is the word of

God and the rest is human construct.

Halevi highlights this discourse in his text as the “Paradox of Islamization”. He talks about how

when multiple sects of the Islamic community come together to discuss the various takes on the

appropriateness of an action or whether something is permissible within Islam or not, this actually

helps to strengthen what Islam is and also helps in the growth of Islam. While there were people

against the practice of narrating verses of the Quran at the burial, it was a way of including and

attracting more people within the fold, similarly, the discourse on whether it is acceptable to be

narrating Quranic verses at the cemetery is itself prudent towards spreading Islam.

Similarly, the use of Quranic texts being inscribed on the tombstones was ardently refuted by

traditionalists. Their argument was based on the customs from Muhammad’s era being true and

right and not to be changed., any additions were not to be considered a part of Islam and were not

a part of the religion. Their opinion was a reactionary opinion to the development of practices

within Islam as the years passed and Islam spread and mingled and got adopted by people of

various parts of the world and from various cultures. The traditionalist view would often differ

from the practiced forms of Islam. This rift would grow stronger with the growth of elitism and
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orthodoxy.

The heterodox view was that the elitist traditionalist view would be exclusionary towards the

existing local customs, traditions, and other practices that would make the religion unapproachable

to many and distant and elitist. The divide was perceived to be greater by the traditionalists than it

really was, according to Halevi. He says that the grave inscribers were literate and understanding

of orthodox Muslim traditions and views of salvation, afterlife, and resurrection along with

confessions of faith and community building. They were people who understood the traditionalist

view and still challenged the practicality of it. Hence, Halevi says that the disgust of the

traditionalist was not aimed at them but instead at innovative or new practices that would come

up. Halevi says that it is because these practices included aspects of both the “High” traditionalist

views and the “Lower” heterodox views, that the practices became more adaptable by others and

still held a high standard that was desired and helped in assimilating all aspects of an individual’s

culture together.

Halevi talks about how traditionalists reject not only innovative traditions but also pious and

acceptable traditions of reciting the Quran at the cemetery and inscribing memorials in God’s

name. While they reject these practices as they were not followed at the time of Muhammad, these

practices grew and stood rooted in the cultural practices of South Arabia, the Mediterranean, and

Mesopotamian regions. These ‘non-Islamic’ traditions are the “Paradox of Islamization” as they

are the practices that actually lead to the further spread and solidification of Islam within these

regions. It is hard to imagine the solidification and spread of the culture and the religion without
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violating these traditionalist practices to establish an identity of Islam in the world that stands out

for the identity of other religions.

Works used

1) Leor Halevi, Muhammad’s Grave: Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society

2) Engseng Ho. 2006. Graves of Tarim: Genealogy and Mobility Across the Indian Ocean.