The significant place of death in the lives of ancient Egyptians can be seen by their belief that life and death were simply phases of the same process and in their meticulous and elaborate funerary practices. This in-depth study argues that aspects of the same behaviour continued in Egypt into more recent centuries and that there are similarities between the ways ordinary men and women practised religion in ancient times and during the Islamic era. Primarily focusing on textual evidence, the study examines the origin and dvelopment of funerary rituals from the early Dynastic period to the Coptic and Islamic periods and discusses and compares the treatment of the dead body, sacrifical practices, associated religious rituals, types of graves and cemeteries, funerals, beliefs surrounding life after death and heaven.