Ghafan (from Arabic kafan, the shroud) was the term used in Atjeh for the funeral expenses of a deceased person, defrayed from his estate before the residue was transferred to the bait ul-mâl.
Meaning and extension
D. W. N. de Boer glossed the word as “eigenlijk = lijkkleed” — properly, the shroud — but noted that it was used pars pro toto, that is for all the funeral costs. The amount was that “hem naar rang en stand competeerende” — appropriate to the deceased’s rank and station.
Place in the settlement of heirless estates
Where an oeléëbalang laid ex officio seizure on an unadministered estate for the bait ul-mâl, the ghafan was first met out of the proceeds of the goods left by the deceased, the eeang male; only what remained was booked over to the mosque fund.
See Also
Source
Het recht op den grond in Atjeh, by D. W. N. de Boer, dated Scheveningen, November 1931, pp. 59-80. Offprint DLP-141, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, ‘s-Gravenhage; Bibliotheek KITLV accession 0060 4460 60 081470 428.