Being a part of something deadly is scary, but what about experiencing it and seeing dead bodies in front of you? Well back in the 14th century, there was a plague called the Black Death. Everyone was dying from left to right. Historians today believe that the cause of the plague was bacterial strains that live in the stomachs of fleas that live in the fur of rodents. When a rodent dies, the fleas will travel to another. If the fleas travel to a human, then an epidemic will occur. An epidemic is when everyone will die in a matter of time from the spread of the disease. It didn’t take long for the fleas to spread to Europe and North Africa, starting in Asia around 1349. This plague affected the Christian and Muslim populations, but both had their responses and treatments of the Black Death. Both the Muslims and Christians had different causes and prevention as well that are non-religious practices. Christians believed that the cause of it was miasma and excessive clothing and to prevent it, they should avoid sleeping on their back and breathe in latrine vapors. While Muslims believed that the cause was miasma as well as sins. They felt they should use letter magic and stay indoors. Their role as God was also different. Christians felt that the Black Death was a punishment for their sins from God whereas Muslims took it as a blessing from God, and they had to accept it. Although Muslims and Christians experienced the Black Death together they did differ on the treatment of the dead, and how they tried to find a solution with faith.
Muslims’ and Christians’ treatment of the dead differs from one another during the Black Death. Christians would take the dead bodies out to the front and place them in a pile where everyone could see them. Then, priests would come by to collect the body to bury it, but biers of bodies would follow the priests who would have to bury all of them at once. This can be supported by a document of Giovanni Boccaccio in The Decameron, “…it happened that two priests going forth with a crowd to bury someone were joined by three of four biers carried behind by bearers so that while the priests thought they had one corpse to bury, they found themselves with six, eight, or even more. Nor were these dead honored with tears, candles, or mourners.” This piece of evidence from Giovanni Boccaccio, showed that the burying of the dead Christians wasn’t proper because many more bodies would join the burial where there wasn’t any family, prayers, or anything to give the body away. The family of the deceased didn’t honor the dead with anything which shows no empathy or care from them. Whereas the death of Muslims was treated where they were considered as martyrs. Muslims believe that the plague was a blessing from God, anyone who died of this was considered a martyr. This can be further explained in a document of Ibn Abi Hajalah in The Black Death in the Middle East, “consider their wounds which resemble the wounds of slaughtered, and they are among them. And behold, their wounds had been similar; so they joined the martyrs.” This shows that the wounds of the dead are similar which is why they’re considered a martyr. Christians were trying to do what they should do with a dead body while the Muslims have simple buries that are not too extravagant but with simple prayers. The Christians and Muslims differ on the treatment of the dead where Christians would bury the body and Muslims would count the death as a martyr.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
The way the Christians and Muslims tried to find a solution to the plague with faith also differs. This can be supported by a document of William Dene in The Age of Chivalry, “… not thinking of death nor of the past plague nor their salvation…” When it comes to Christians trying to find a solution to the Black Death with faith, they weren’t trying. It sounded like they were giving up where the people weren’t doing much, or what they were going to do. On the other hand, Muslims tried to find a way out of this was praying constantly and performing the five pillars of Islam. This evidence can be supported by a document of Ibn Battuta in Travels in Asia and Africa, “ the people fasted for three successive days… assembled in the Great Mosque until it was filled to overflowing.. and spent the night there in prayers… Then, after performing the dawn prayer…, they all went out together… carrying Korans in their hands.” This piece of evidence from Ibn Battuta showed that the Muslims were dedicated to striving to discover a solution to the plague. They’re constantly praying doing their rituals and following the five pillars of Islam. Christians were praying with the gospels while Muslims were trying to do things from the Koran to hopefully find a cure for the plague. Both groups differed on how they tried to find a solution with faith where Christians didn’t really care and were already giving up while the Muslims were doing everything they could to try to survive the plague.
Based on all of the evidence and information, shows that the Muslims and Christians differ in the way they treated the dead and how they tried to find a solution with faith. Muslims were more focused on their religion when performing certain activities while Christians acted normally, doing things properly. Besides these two differences between the two groups, they also differed in their role of God and the causes and prevention of the plague.
Stuck on your essay?
