✦ Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Several Sunnah-Based Recommendations for Kafan
Islam emphasizes dignity and simplicity in the burial of the deceased. The kafan (shroud) should reflect this principle by following the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ and the practice of the righteous predecessors.
➊ Use White Cloth for the Shroud
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله stated:
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) on the recommendation of using white cloth for shrouding.
[Sharḥ Muslim 4/12]
❀ Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
«البسوا من ثيابكم البياض، فإنها من خير ثيابكم، وكفنوا فيها موتاكم»
“Wear white garments, for they are among your best clothes, and shroud your deceased in them as well.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Abū Dāwūd 3284, al-Tirmidhī 994, Ibn Mājah 1472, Aḥmad 1/247, al-Ḥākim 1/354, al-Bayhaqī 3/245]
➋ Shrouding in Three Pieces of Cloth
❀ Narration from ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
«كُفِّنَ رسولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم في ثلاثةِ أثوابٍ بيضٍ سَحوليةٍ من كُرْسُفٍ، ليسَ فيها قميصٌ ولا عمامةٌ»
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shrouded in three white Yemeni cotton garments, with no shirt or turban.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1264, Muslim 941, Abū Dāwūd 3151, al-Tirmidhī 996, Ibn Mājah 1469]
❀ Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه also instructed to be shrouded in three garments.
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1387]
🚫 The narration stating:
«أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كُفِّنَ في سبعة أثواب»
“The Prophet ﷺ was shrouded in seven garments” is rejected and unreliable.
[Ḍaʿīf: Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 85, Naṣb al-Rāyah 2/261, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/688, al-Bazzār 646]
✔ Scholarly Views on Including a Shirt in Kafan:
- Ḥanafī and Mālikī Schools:
Consider it recommended (mustaḥabb) to include a shirt (qamīṣ) in the shroud. - Jumhūr (Majority of Scholars):
Do not recommend including a shirt, because the Prophet ﷺ was not shrouded with a shirt.
[al-Umm 1/471, al-Ḥāwī 3/20, Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/307, al-Mughnī 3/383, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/688]
✅ Rājiḥ (Stronger) Opinion: The view of the majority is correct, as the Ḥanafī argument relies on a weak narration.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 2/688]
◈ Valid Options for the Number of Shrouds:
✔ One garment: As used for Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr and Ḥamzah رضي الله عنهما.
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4045]
✔ Two garments: For a person who died in iḥrām, only two pieces were used.
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1267]
✔ Three garments: As used for the Prophet ﷺ, which is the complete Sunnah.
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1264]
🚫 No authentic ḥadīth proves the use of more than three garments.
Hence, Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله ruled that it is not permissible to shroud the deceased in more than three pieces.
[Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 84]
✔ Summary of Sunnah Practices for Kafan:
✅ Use white garments
✅ Three pieces for a man (without shirt or turban)
✅ Avoid more than three pieces
✅ One or two garments are acceptable when necessity dictates
✅ Avoid extravagance, and follow simplicity and dignity as shown by the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions
