The "may his soul rest in perfect peace" prayer in Christianity and Islam in African context

Abstract

This paper examines philosophical and moral issues associated with the traditional religious prayer “May his soul rest in perfect peace,” with particular reference to Christianity and Islam. The paper argues that though such a religious prayer is usually said during the burial of a deceased with the intention of consoling the living members of the deceased’s family and goodwill for the deceased, the fact that it refers to something beyond the natural world creates a huge conflict between anthropomorphism and supernaturalism. A discursive and analytical approach was used in analysing data gathered through participatory observation and reading of philosophical texts. The entire discussion was placed against the backdrop of logical positivists’ theory on religious language. After a careful digestion of the available data, the paper discusses both philosophical and moral problems associated with such a traditional religious prayer. Philosophical problems include the issues of non-applicability and non-verifiability of language while the moral problems include issues of over-assumption, and distortion of the moral equilibrium of society. Overall, the paper concludes that the moral lapses accruing from the use of such a religious prayer outweighs its moral benefits. Thus, there is need for a reconsideration of the use of this religious prayer during burial of a deceased person, especially if the deceased is perceived to have lived a questionable life while on earth.

Keywords: Precarious nature, rest in perfect peace, Christians and Muslims, African context, philosophical and moral issues