Question: How many garments should a woman’s shroud have? Is trousers (pajama) permissible for a woman?
Answer:
The general view of the jurists and muhaddithin is that a woman should be shrouded in five garments:
➊ Izar (waist-wrap)
➋ Qamis (shirt)
➌ Khimar, that is, the headscarf (also called the damani or sar-band)
➍ Two lafafa, that is, two large sheets in which she is wrapped.
The evidence cited for this is the report of Laila bint Qa’if Thaqafiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her), who says:
“I was among the women who washed Umm Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ first gave us the waist-wrap, then the shirt, then the khimar (headscarf) over it, then a sheet, and after that she was wrapped in another garment. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting at the door, and he had Sayyidah Umm Kulthum’s (may Allah be pleased with her) shroud with him, and he would give us the items one by one.”
However, this report is not sound. In its chain is Nuh ibn Hakim, who is an unknown person whose reliability is unknown; and in it there is also a man named Dawud of whom there is no information as to who he is. It should also be remembered that when Umm Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with her) died, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was at Badr and was not present with her. See:
That is why Allamah al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
«والمرأة فى ذٰلك كالرجل اذ لا دليل على التفريق»
“In this matter a woman is like a man, and there is no evidence for distinguishing between the shroud of a woman and that of a man.”
The Prophet ﷺ was shrouded in three white cotton sheets of Suhuli cloth, in which there was neither a shirt nor a turban.
Therefore, the Sunnah is that whether the deceased is a man or a woman, they should be buried in three garments. «والله اعلم!»
