"We come here to intercede for him, O Allah! Deliver him from the horrors of the grave and from the fire of Hell. Forgive him. Grant him Thy mercy. Grant that the place he shall occupy be honourable and spacious. Wash him with snow and hail water, and cleanse him from his sins as they cleanse a white robe from the impurities that have soiled it. Give him a habitation better than his own, relations better than his own, and a spouse more perfect than his own. If he was good, make him still better. If he was wicked, forgive him his wickedness, O Allah! He has taken refuge with Thee, for Thou art the best of all refuges! It is a poor man who has gone to share Thy munificence, and Thou art too rich to chastise him and cause him to suffer. "O Allah! strengthen the voice of the deceased at the moment when he shall render to Thee an account of his actions, and lay not upon him more than he is able to bear. We ask it of Thee through the intercession of Thy Prophet, of all Thy angels, and of all Thy saints. _Amin!_" "_Amin!_" cry all who are present, at the same time making a genuflection. Then the Iman resumes: "O Allah! Forgive our dead, our living ones, those of us who are present, those of us who are absent, our little ones, our great ones. Forgive our fathers, all those who preceded us, and all Mussulmans! "Those whom Thou wilt bring to life again, bring to life in the faith. And those among us whom Thou wilt cause to die, let them die true Believers! "Prepare us for a good death, and may that death give us rest, and the favour of beholding Thee. _Amin!_" This prayer being terminated, and while the _tolbas_ recite the _salat el mokteâat_, the body is lowered into the grave, the face turned towards Mecca. Large stones are fitted round it, and every one present makes it a point of honour to throw in a little earth. The gravediggers level the surface of the grave, and cover it with thorny shrubs to protect it from hyænas and jackals. It is now time to return, and all retake the road to the tribe with the exception of a few women, the friends or relatives of the deceased, who, bowed down with sorrow over the grave, speak to the dead man and question him and wish him farewell, as if they thought he could hear them. At last the _tolbas_ and the marabouts exclaim: "Come, women. Retire trusting in Allah, and leave the dead in peace to settle with Azrael;[97] cease your tears and lamentations. Death is a tax levied upon our heads. We must all of us pay it. There is no alternative, neither is there any injustice in this event. Allah alone is eternal. What! should we accept the will of Allah when it brings us joy, and refuse it when it brings us sorrow! Depart. Your cries are an impiety."