"Funeral Procession", folio 35r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds)

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This manuscript folio depicts what a funeral procession looks like in the Islamic culture. It shows the preparation of the burial site as well as the coffin being transported to the site. This illustration is associated with a story presented through a bird’s perspective on the fear of what death would look like. According to the story, the son is grieving the death of his father and the Sufi soothes his grief in front of the coffin. He explains to him that his father experienced more pain on this earth and that no one can avoid death. This folio shows how death is interpreted in the Islamic community through showing how it was handled in their culture.