Asia's Three Paths of Departure

The foundational view of death across the Middle East, particularly within the dominant Abrahamic faiths of Judaism and Islam, centers on the human body as a sacred trust (Amanah) from God. This is not merely a philosophical concept but a theological mandate that strictly governs how the body must be treated after the soul has departed. It is the belief in a physical resurrection on the Day of Judgment that makes the prompt and respectful preservation and return of the natural form of the body to the earth an absolute necessity, serving as the core principle overriding all other funeral customs.