GRAVE

Arabic qabr ( قبر‎ ); Heb. ‏קבר‎ . The graves of Muḥammadans are so dug as to allow the body to lie with its face towards Makkah; consequently in India they are dug from north to south. It is usual to dig a grave the depth equal to the height of the breast of a middle-sized man, and to make a rece at the bottom, which is called laḥd , in which the body is placed. The body having been placed in this rece , it is closed with unburnt bricks, and the grave is filled with earth and a mound raised over it. The Traditions of Muḥammad, as well as the works of Muslim doctors, all teach that a dead body is conscious of pain, and therefore great care is taken to prevent any pre ure upon the body. ʿĀmir relates that his father Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ said on his death-bed, “Make a laḥd for me towards Makkah, and put unburnt bricks upon my grave, as was done in the case of the Prophet ” ( Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim , p. 211). Sufyān at-Tammār relates that he “saw the Prophet’s grave, and the top of it was like a camel’s back.” ( Ṣaḥīḥu ʾl-Buk͟hārī .) Ibn ʿAbbās says “a red cloth was placed upon the Prophet’s grave.” ( Mishkāt , book v. c. vi.) Jābir says “the Prophet prohibited building with mortar on graves, and also placing inscriptions upon them.” ( Mishkāt , book v. c. vi.) But notwithstanding this tradition (which is acted upon by the Wahhābīs), masonry tombs are most common in all parts of Islām, and form some of the most striking specimens of Muḥammadan architecture. [ TOMBS .]