In addition to all of that, the official mourning period is 40 days. During this period loved ones of the deceased have special prayers for the dead’s soul. Finally, the average cost of a modern Islamic funeral in Egypt varies from 300 to 2.500 USD. However, next to these strictly Islamic funerary practices, another interesting phenomenon takes place in Egypt: Many present-day death beliefs are comparable to Ancient Egyptian practices. That applies both to Muslim and Christian Egyptian death practices. After all, both religions believe that death signifies the split of the eternal, immortal soul from the fleeting, physical body.
Egyptian beliefs preach that the soul of the dead visits the grave multiple times. The soul returns firstly on the third day and then consecutively seven, fifteen and forty days after death. Additionally, Egyptians believe that the soul will continue returning every Friday. Connecting that with Islamic beliefs, the spirit of the prophet also visits the grave in order to smell the aloe plant that is often found next to graves. Moreover, when the soul is not visiting it is stuck either in the underworld or in heaven. Interestingly this is a belief shared both by Egyptian Muslims and Copts – a Christian denomination.
