RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIESof piety, and when 'Amr died (ca. 678) his companions did the same
for him out of respect.^103 Abii Burda ibn Abi Miisa at Kufa even walked
behind the body at the funeral of a mawla, giving him precedence over
the living.^104
It became a matter of piety and an individual honor to lead the
prayer over the funeral procession. The custom of praying over the
dead and of standing by the grave was already known in the Hijaz
(Sura 9:84). AI-I:Iarith al-A'war, who was the imam for his tribe in
Kufa, used to lead the prayer over their funeral processions,los and
al-I:Iasan al-Ba!?ri led the prayer over the funeral procession of Raja'
al-'Utaridi while he was mounted on his donkey.106 By the same token,
the funeral of 'Abdullah ibn al-Mughaffal in Basra in 678-79 provided
an opportunity to insult 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. When the latter turned
up at the door of the dead man's house with his retinue, he was told
by the Companions in charge of the funeral that Ibn al-Mughaffal had
left explicit instructions that Ibn Ziyad was not to lead the prayer over
him.107
'Abdullah ibn al-Mughaffal also objected to the use of illumination
and asked that no one follow him with fire when he died.^108 'Imran
ibn al-I:Iu!?ayn (d. 672), also at Basra, wanted his pallbearers to carry
him out walking quickly when he died, and he especially requested
them not to walk slowly, as the Jews and Christians did, or to follow
him with fire or make an outcry. He also forbade his umm walads to
lament for him.109 The survival of pre-Islamic Arab customs in the
garrison towns is shown by Abii Bakra, who rode his mule in a funeral
procession at BasrallO and by Shurayl)., who by riding in the funeral
procession of 'Amr ibn Shural).bil at Kufa was probably intentionally
expressing his disapproval of the adoption of such local customs,111
Shurayl). was also seen praying in a burnous and walking in front of
a funeral procession instead of behind it. In his own instructions about
his burial, he asked that his death not be announced, that he be taken
to the cemetery quickly without any outcry, and that prayers should
103 Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, VI, 74.
104 Ibid., VI, 187.
105 Ibid., VI, 116.
106 Ibid., VII(l), 101.
1(}7 Ibid., VII(l), 8.
108 Ibid.
109 Ibid., VII(I), 6.
110 Ibid., VII(l), 8.
111 Ibid., VI, 74.