Austere ceremony for Saudi king
2005-08-02 10:09
Riyadh - The late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who ruled the world's top oil exporter for more than two decades, will be laid to rest in an austere ceremony in line with Saudi traditions in Riyadh later on Tuesday.
His final journey will start from the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, where he died on Monday, and end at a public cemetery in the centre of the Saudi capital after prayers attended by the ruling family and a host of Arab leaders.
Covered by the last abaya (traditional Arab robe) he wore, Fahd's body will be carried in an ambulance, without a military escort, from the hospital to Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque, also known as the grand mosque, for the funeral prayers to be held at around 15:30.
According to royal protocol sources, the kingdom's grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, will lead the prayers for the late monarch, who carried the title of "custodian of the two holy mosques" in Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites.
Newly proclaimed King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Fahd's half-brother, will lead mourners.
The "prayer for the dead" during which mourners remain standing will be recited after afternoon prayers, in a ceremony replicated in other mosques across the vast Gulf kingdom, where the "prayer for the absentee" will be read.
Ordinary citizens will also take part in the funeral service, albeit without chanting slogans or raising flags, in line with local tradition.
The body will then be ferried again in the ambulance to the Al-Od cemetery about 2km away, a public cemetery where Fahd's four predecessors as monarchs and other members of the Al-Saud ruling family are nonetheless buried.
Arab and Muslim dignitaries who will attend the funeral will not be present at the burial. Only ruling family members and Saudi citizens will be on hand as the body is lowered in a hole that will be covered by earth, in keeping with the tradition of the Wahhabi strict doctrine of Islam which is predominant in Saudi Arabia.
Muslim leaders will offer condolences at the mosque, while other foreign dignitaries and leaders who come after the funeral will pay their respects at the royal court.