The rulings on bathing, shrouding and burying the deceased have continued from Abul Bashar Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him), and the Sharia of Muhammad ﷺ has also taught these matters with some further clarification. The bathing of the deceased is an extremely important and sensitive matter, which we, considering it minor and of no particular significance, hand over to professional servants, whereas from the Sharia standpoint all matters from the bathing of the deceased to the burial are the responsibility of close relatives. Therefore, this is presented with explanation for general knowledge so that it may be acted upon.
عن أبى بن كعب رضی اللہ عنہ أن أدم عليه السلام قبضته الملئكة وغسلوه فكفنوه و حضروله ولحدوا وصلوا عليه ثم دخلو قبره ووضعوه فى قبره ووضعوا عليه التراب ثم قالوا يا بني آدم هذه سنتكم
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the angels took the soul of Adam (peace be upon him), they themselves bathed him, shrouded him, attended his funeral, and the angels themselves dug his grave. Then they prayed the funeral prayer over him, lowered him into the grave, closed his grave with bricks and threw earth upon the grave (then, after the preparation and shrouding, they) said: “O children of Adam! This is your sunnah (the prescribed method for bathing, shrouding and burying the deceased).”
Note:
If the deniers of the punishment of the grave reflect on this hadith, they will know that:
➊ The angels regarded the worldly grave as the grave.
➋ They threw earth upon the grave.
➌ They also closed the grave with bricks.
When the angels, by the command of the Lord, have this knowledge that the grave will be found on earth in some form in this world, then it is wisdom for us too to accept the importance of the grave and the temporary reward and punishment.
It is narrated from Sayyidah Hafsah bint Sirin and Sayyidah Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that at the death of Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her), the beloved daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, while giving instructions for her bathing, he ﷺ said to us: “Bathe her an odd number of times.” Moreover, he ﷺ commanded us to begin from the right side and from the places of ablution, and to bathe her three to seven times.
In light of the above evidences and the other commands of the Prophet ﷺ on this subject in the books of hadith, the imams and the scholars, for the instruction of the common people, have explained in sequential order the etiquettes of bathing the deceased. It is being presented in a very simple manner so that, benefiting from it, we may ourselves attain the blessing of fulfilling this obligation as it should be done.
Etiquettes of Bathing the Deceased
◈ For washing the deceased, it is necessary to select two trustworthy and righteous persons, so that they regard what they see of the deceased during the washing as a trust and do not relate it before anyone. In the Sahihain, the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is related: he said, “Whoever conceals a Muslim’s faults, Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.”
◈ Heat water mixed with lote-tree leaves until it is lukewarm. In Sahih al-Bukhari, according to the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, this is the Sunnah. However, using soap is not contrary to the Shariah either, because the real objective is the cleanliness of the deceased; therefore, there is no harm in using whatever gives greater cleanliness.
◈ Lay the deceased on a plank in a slightly elevated place, and also arrange for fragrance there, so that the foul smell of any possible waste that may come out of the deceased’s stomach during bathing is felt less.
◈ Remove the deceased’s clothing, leaving the private parts covered, then gently press the deceased’s stomach so that any filth comes out before the washing, which is better. Then the one washing him should put on a glove or a stitched cloth bag on his hand and wash and thoroughly clean the deceased’s private parts and any filth.
◈ In accordance with the Sunnah, the washing should begin from the right side and from the places of wudu, meaning the deceased should first be given wudu, but water should not be put into the mouth and nose for rinsing, lest water go into the stomach and cause the deceased’s body to deteriorate quickly; therefore, the teeth should be cleaned first with a cloth or cotton soaked in water, and then the nose.
◈ After wudu, the deceased should be turned onto the left side and water poured, and the body should be cleaned thoroughly from head to toe with soap; then, by turning the deceased over, the left side should also be washed in the same way. This completes one washing.
◈ In accordance with the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the deceased should be washed in the same manner (as appropriate to the situation) three, five or seven times, so that cleaning is thorough and complete; also, the hair and beard should be washed well and perfume applied. If the deceased is a woman, her hair should be washed, made into two or three braids, and placed behind the head.
◈ Finally, according to the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ related in Sahih Muslim, camphor should be applied to the deceased. If camphor is not available, any good fragrance may be used. But it should be remembered that when camphor is available, using another fragrance is not appropriate, because every command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is full of many wisdoms. Consider this command of camphor: its coolness has a property that is beneficial to the body of the deceased, and its fragrance has the quality that insects do not come near the deceased’s body quickly. Subhan Allah.
A Rare Opportunity to Have Forty Years of Sins Forgiven
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever conceals faults while washing the deceased, Allah will forgive him forty years of his sins in return; and whoever shrouds a deceased person, Allah will clothe him with silk of Paradise; and whoever digs a grave for a deceased person and then buries him in it, he will be given a dwelling in reward in which he will remain until the Day of Resurrection.”
Etiquettes of the Shroud for the Deceased
◈ Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abi Dawud report from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: when any one of you shrouds his brother, he should make the shroud good.
It should be remembered that in this matter moderation should be adopted. A good shroud means clean, wide and medium-quality cloth, not very expensive and costly cloth. Because in Jami’ al-Tirmidhi and Sunan Ibn Majah it is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not be extravagant and excessive in shrouding, for it decays and perishes quickly.”
◈ Sahih al-Bukhari reports that Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was fasting, and when food was placed before him for iftar, he said: “Sayyiduna Mus’ab ibn Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred and he was shrouded in a single cloak, though he was better than me. If his head were covered, his feet would be exposed, and if his feet were covered, his head would be exposed. Likewise Sayyiduna Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in the same condition, though he too was better than me. Then the world was made wide for us and we were granted its bounties; I fear that our good deeds may have been repaid to us quickly in this world.” Then tears flowed from his eyes and he left the food.
From this incident it is known that according to circumstances, whatever shroud is available suffices, whether it is one cloth or two. However, in good circumstances it is recommended that the deceased be shrouded in three cloths, as narrated in Sahih Muslim from Umm al-Mu’minin Hadrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shrouded in three white cloths.
✿ Valuable Benefit
◈ The shroud common today did not exist in the era of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. In the early days of Islam, due to limited resources among the general Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), this matter was not given much importance. But now, despite our weaknesses of faith, shortcomings and ingratitude to the Lord, showers of Divine favours are pouring upon us. As a poet said:
“He sees our faults, yet He does not reduce His bounties;
It cannot be understood why He is so merciful.”
Therefore, in view of the blessing and abundance granted by Allah Most High, according to the great Muhaddithun and Fuqaha (may Allah have mercy on them), it is recommended to shroud a man in three white cloths and a woman in five cloths (this is not established, so shrouding a woman in three cloths is also Sunnah; and Allah knows best). If five are not available, three will also suffice, but in three cloths a shirt, a sheet and a wrapping cloth are necessary. Where there are five cloths, a head cloth and a cloth to tie over the chest are prepared. For both man and woman, the wrapping cloths should be long enough to be easily tied from the head and feet sides and lowered into the grave; and a waistband should also be tied so there is no fear of the shroud opening in the middle. Writing anything on the shroud is not proven from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, so one should avoid this innovation. I personally saw an ignorant, poorly educated, rustic mullah who made a pen from a date palm branch and wrote the complete Kalima and the Shahadatain on the shroud. This is a clear opposition to the Hadith, and secondly, when the body bursts in the grave, the waste, excrement and filth of the corpse come out of the body and fall upon Allah’s blessed words, which is also sheer disrespect. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, has spoken the truth in His Glorious Book: they did not honour Me with the honour that was due to Me.
“I gave my life, yet it was His gift to begin with;
The truth is that the right was not fulfilled.”
