CNN reports that King Fahad of Saudi Arabia has just passed away. Our heartfelt condolences to the Saudi and Arab nation on his passing. May he rest in peace.
RIP King Fahad
Mahmood's Den
An Arab man's attempt at bridging the cultural gap and trying to make a difference. Failing a lot. Succeeding once in a while.
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RIP King Fahad
where did the 3 days of mourning come from? was it islamic? or cultural?
Re: RIP King Fahad
Looks like a Muslim thing.
RIP King Fahad
COMMENT DELETED DUE TO IT’S OFFENSIVE NATURE.
Steve, stop. Go elsewhere if you wish to participate in hate. Especially at this time.
Days of Mourning
Well the 40 days have always been prominent in Jewish tradition, somehow representing the 40 years of wandering in the desert before entering the promised land. Also, each time that Moses ascended Mount Sinai, he stayed there for 40 days before emerging with the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets.
Christianity was quick to adopt it based on the forty days that Christ spent fasting in the wilderness. Which is why for the seasons of Lent and Advent, Christians fast for 40 days.
I’m still not sure about which came first, but Eastern Christian churches observe the [i]Arbaeen[/i] or 40 days of mourning, though it never caught on in the West. Whether it was a commonality that Islam picked up from Christianity or the other way around, I have yet to find out.
Whatever you may think of King Fahd, he is at God’s mercy. God give courage to the people of Saudi Arabia.
Re: Days of Mourning
I remember being taught in school that “40 days” was a synonym for “a long time”. It was not really a literal description of time. The number 40 appears repeatedly in the Jewish and Christian bibles. Noah spent 40 days on the ark, the Hebrews wandered for 40 years, etc ..
Aliandra
Re: Days of Mourning
Hello
As far as I remember the 40 days of mourning comes from the old Egyptian culture. Originally the 40 days were needed to dry up all the liquid of the body during the process of mummification. By time those 40 days became a tradition in which it was used later to prepare for the royal funerals. They used to even hire some women just to cry and weep during those 40 days which is a tradition still in practice in today’s Egypt.
I am sorry I don’t remember any reference at the moment that could give more details about that or how it was transferred to the other cultures. But I promise I will look for it and blog it.
Fuad
Re(1): Days of Mourning
Aliandra,
that could be true but literal interpretation has stumped all others since time immemorial, especially now that there is no way to prove exactly how long any of those time periods were. personally, I’ve always wondered about how biblical patriarchs lived for so long, suspecting that the numbers may have been fudged.
Re(1): RIP King Fahad
I must apologize, the original question was about the THREE days of mouring, and I took it above and beyond.
While most Christians would immediately say it is in reference to Christ remaining in the tomb for three days before his resurrection, one must concede that a period of intense mourning is necessary for the sake of the bereaved.
From a pragmatic perspective, whether sanctioned by religion or not, the days of mourning are necessary for relatives and associates of the deceased to be notified and called to the funeral. In the old days, witnessing a public greiving, or better yet the actual corpse if it hadn’t yet begun to foul the surroundings, served as a death certificate.
Re(2): RIP King Fahad
Ironically, all factions of Islam apparently observe these 3 days of mourning, EXCEPT the Wahabi doctrine, where it is actually forbidden completely. To them, bury the dead and get on with your life, and you’re not allowed to have a mourning period at all. And you’re not allowed to visit the grave afterwards either to pay your respects etc!
RIP King Fahad
الله يرØÂÂÙ… الملك Ù?هد ويتغمده بواسع رØÂÂمته ويسكنه Ù?سيؠجناته ويلهم اهله الصبر والسلونوانشالله الامير عبدالله يكونخير خلÙ? لخير سلÙ?
RIP King Fahad
Gad keep his soul in your great heaven and prevent our nations during this hard time.
RIP King Fahad
enna lellah wa enna ilayhi raji3oune
RIP King Fahad
Ina lilah wa ina lahu raji3oon .. may allah grant him heaven inshallah …
RIP King Fahad
Bahrain has just announced (arabic) 40 days of mourning where flags will fly at half-staff. The government and most companies will also close for three days as of today, as a mark of respect in King Fahad’s memory.
RIP King Fahad
I’d like to read Steve’s deleted comment!
Re(3): RIP King Fahad
How ironic, then.
I cannot wish the King well or Ill. I simply hope that he goes wherever he expected to go.
And I hope with the new administration (which, oddly enough is the same as the old administration for all intents and purposes) will work harder toward the future.
RIP King Fahad
Byebye,
at least you finally brought us something good, 3 to 40 days of holidays !