Death is seen as a normal event that happens to all people, whether we like it or not. Many different cultures and religions deal with death and grief in many different ways, ways that some may not even understand. By instinct, one culture may hold a funeral while others may not. For some cultures, people hold a funeral or ceremony to commemorate the person who has died. An example of this is death and funerals in Middle Eastern and Muslim cultures. While I might just focus on a Muslim funeral, some might have slightly different ways of doing certain things, although it still somehow falls into the same category. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. For example, funerals for Iraqi Muslims may be different from funerals for Muslims living in Nigeria. In my case, attending a funeral is an eye-opening event that I unfortunately had to attend. This rite of passage was very different from what I had understood about Western funerals, which is what only I knew. During this rite of passage the mourning and crying never stopped during the entire funeral, as many family members were unable to stop the tears from pouring over this tragic event. All the people who attended the funeral wore black as a sign of mourning for at least forty days. The most interesting part of the funeral was how the body of the deceased was treated in Islam. My family members washed the body, wrapped it in a white cloth-like material, and sent it to the burial site. Along the way, they stopped at a mosque to pray, which is mandatory in Islam after a person's death. Once they arrived at the burial site, the men placed the body in the ground in front of Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. At the end of the funeral, the deceased person's wife goes through something called "Iddah". This means that he will not be able to leave home, remarry or wear jewelry for exactly 4 months and 10 days, as stated in the Holy Quran. There are some exemptions to this, for example if the widow needs to see a doctor or needs to go to work to help support her family. Experiencing all this was very touching and emotional for someone like me who, even if I wasn't close to the person who had conveyed it, still conveyed that raw emotion that moves you and makes you understand why people go through this type of grief. Please note: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay As I stated before, I have never been exposed to this type of funeral, which made it even more interesting to observe and understand how each individual, starting from the wife, from the deaths to the simple people who worked in the burial city they are all brought together in a time like this. I believe that this rite of passage transformed the person from a person living on earth to a soul headed towards the afterlife as is believed in the religion of Islam. Due to the fact that Muslims believe that the soul goes to Heaven or Hell, it makes the rite of passage more understandable due to the transformation of the body from alive to dead.