Funeral ceremony of Janati's wife

Pre-funeral steps

The schedule for a traditional Iranian or Persian funeral tends to be fairly rigid. Before the funeral itself, someone will wash the deceased’s body with water and soap, before placing their hands in a prayer position and wrapping the entire body in a white burial cloth. The person responsible for washing the body is traditionally a family member of the same gender as the deceased.

The white cloth has symbolic importance. Because we are born into the world naked, Iranian Muslims believe it’s appropriate that we should be essentially naked when we leave the world as well, with only a white cloth covering our bodies.