Muslim cemetery in Moscow

The first Muslim cemetery in Moscow appeared in the 18th century. The emergence of such burial sites is associated with a large number of faithful living in the city. Gradually, the number of cemeteries increased, they were ennobled, they became more and more. Some of them function to this day.

The differences of the Muslim cemetery from any other are minimal, because they are all intended for burial of the dead on a specially protected territory for this purpose. It does not matter which nation or race the deceased belonged, most importantly, that he profess Islam. The Muslim cemetery is always located outside the city and is enclosed by a fence so that stray animals can not penetrate it.

Features

For many of those who first came to this place of burial, it seems strange that all the tombstones are turned in one direction. In fact, the explanation for this is quite simple. In that direction is the sacred for every orthodox city of Mecca.

Islam forbids putting on the monuments of the image. This requirement applies to any Muslim cemetery. There are no photos on the tombstones. But you can see on them a lot of epitaphs, which are statements taken from the Koran. The tombstone is allowed to give general information about a person and the date when he passed away.

The Muslim cemetery of Moscow or any other city does not have crypts, tombs and mausoleums. The graves of the faithful are made out exactly as Islam dictates. No deviations from established norms are allowed. At the funeral of a Muslim, all ceremonies are also strictly observed.

Rite of the deceased

After the death of the orthodox over his body, a ritual of washing and washing is performed. Delivering the body to the mosque or to the Muslim cemetery, where there is a special bed, it should be laid on him facing Kyble. The room in which the deceased is located is fumigated with incense.

Having done this, they go on to washing. It is carried out in strict accordance with the laws of the Shariah, and at least four people take part in it. In this case, the deceased woman is not allowed to wash the men, and vice versa. An exception is made only for the wife of the deceased.

Shroud

According to the laws of the Sharia, a true believer can not be buried in clothes. It must be wrapped in a shroud, which is usually made by the relatives of the deceased. If they are not there, then the neighbors do it.

Here, too, has its own characteristics. If the deceased was rich, then his body is covered with three pieces of cloth, the matter of which corresponds to the human well-being. This is a kind of recognition and respect.

It is desirable that the fabric is new. Although it is not forbidden to use the used. But if a man has died, his body can not be covered with silk.

The funeral

The Muslim cemetery on which the deceased is buried is usually not far away. Pull with burial should not be. Muslims are not accepted to bury in a coffin. Place the body in the ground so that the head is turned towards Kybla. This requirement must be fulfilled exactly by all the faithful.

After the dead has been buried, the grave is poured with water, they throw on it seven handfuls of earth and utter the prayer that is necessary in this case.

Requirements

Islam, like any other religion, has its own characteristics and traditions. This applies to the cemetery. They are strictly observed. After all, Muslims believe that this is very important for the afterlife of a person and finding him in Paradise.

Requirements for cemeteries are as follows:

• For the burial of family members it is allowed to allocate a certain site, in case this does not interfere with others;
• In the cemetery it is forbidden to bury people who profess a different religion;
• Between the graves there must be passages, since to step over or worse, it is strictly forbidden to advance to the burial site;
• The tombstone must be modest.

Many of the faithful not only carefully care for the graves of their relatives, but also remove the burial places and unfamiliar dead, whose relatives for one reason or another can not provide them with proper screening.

At the funeral, we should also take into account that, according to the laws of Islam, the body of the deceased can not be cremated. After all, Muslims believe that then a person will go to hell and will always burn there in the fire.

Entrance to any Muslim cemetery is permitted to people of any faith. After all, every person, regardless of his religious views, has the right to pay the debt of respect to a deceased friend or relative.

In the vicinity of Moscow there are several active Muslim cemeteries. Each of them has its own history and a lot of believers are buried on them.

Kuzminskoe Cemetery

In the south-eastern district of the city is located Kuzminskoe cemetery, which was established in 1959. It covers an area of 60 hectares and is divided into the Muslim and Central site.

Despite the fact that the cemetery appeared relatively recently, the place where it is located is mentioned in historical documents of the 18th century. It owes its name to the village of Kuzminki, which was donated by Peter the Great, his friend and associate Grigory Stroganov.

After the death of the new owner, his widow ordered the laying of a wooden church, in the place of which, at the end of the 18th century, a stone church was built. It functions even now, with its decorations - Tuscan porticos and round light drum.

The Muslim cemetery in Kuzminki is located along the street of Academician Scriabin. You can get there by bus or metro.

Danilovskoe cemetery

One of the oldest in Moscow is the Danilovsky Muslim cemetery. It was formed in the late 18th century because of the raging plague in the city and occupied an area of 6.8 hectares. During its existence, a lot of faithful people were buried on it. And to this day, walking through the cemetery, one can find gravestones dating back to the late 19th - early 20th century, and sometimes to the 18th century.

It operates even now, although for a while it was considered closed, but after receiving new territories, it was decided to resume burial on it. The funeral in this cemetery is conducted according to all Muslim traditions.

It carries out the following types of burial urn:

• Into the earth;
• Open columbarium;
• A relative grave;
• sarcophagus.

Despite the fact that many other Muslim cemeteries appeared in Moscow, Danilovskoye is still the main one. Basically, it buried representatives of peoples living in the former Soviet Union and professing Islam. In particular, the Tatars, Vainakhs, Azeris, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and many others.

There are a lot of working Muslim cemeteries in Moscow, and if you want to bury one of them faithful - it's not much work. The main thing is that all the necessary rites and traditions should be observed. After all, as Muslims believe, including depends on it, what will be the afterlife of the deceased.