✦ Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Combing the Hair of the Deceased—Especially a Woman
Combing and organizing the hair of the deceased is a Sunnah, and this is especially emphasized in the case of a female deceased, whose hair should be divided into three braids (plaits) and laid behind her head.
❖ Ḥadīth of Umm ʿAṭiyyah رضي الله عنها:
«فضفرنا شعرها ثلاثة قرون وألقيناها خلفها»
“We braided her hair into three plaits and placed them behind her.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1263 – Kitāb al-Janāʾiz: Bāb Yulqā Shaʿr al-Mayt Khalfahā]
In another narration:
«مشطناها ثلاثة قرون»
“We combed her hair and made it into three plaits.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1254 – Bāb Mā Yustaḥabb an Yughassal Witrān]
✔ Scholarly Opinions:
- Ḥanafiyyah and Imām al-Awzāʿī رحمهما الله:
The woman’s hair should be divided and placed partly over the back and the face.
[al-Umm 1/443, al-Ḥāwī 3/28, al-Aṣl 1/390, Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/308, al-Ikhtiyār 1/93, Ḥāshiyat al-Dusūqī 1/410, al-Mughnī 3/393, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/682] - Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله:
The correct and clear Sunnah is to make three plaits and place them behind her head.
[Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn 2/400]
❖ Use of Camphor in the Final Wash
Also narrated in the report of Umm ʿAṭiyyah رضي الله عنها:
«واجعلن في الأخيرة كافورًا»
“Add camphor in the final (wash).”
✔ Explanation by Scholars:
- Majority (Jumhūr):
Camphor is to be mixed in the water of the final wash.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 2/681] - Ḥanafiyyah and Imām al-Awzāʿī رحمهما الله:
Camphor should be applied directly to the body after the ghusl is complete.
[al-Mughnī 3/378, al-Umm 1/443, al-Ḥāwī 3/11, Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/301, al-Mabsūṭ 2/60, al-Hidāyah 1/90, al-Ikhtiyār 1/92] - Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله:
The apparent meaning of the ḥadīth supports adding camphor to the final rinse water.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 2/681]
❖ Wisdom Behind the Use of Camphor:
① It leaves a pleasant fragrance on the body for the presence of angels.
② It has a preservative property, delaying decomposition.
③ It repels harmful insects or creatures from the body.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 2/682, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/408]
✔ Summary of Sunnah Practice:
✅ For a female deceased, it is Sunnah to:
- Comb her hair properly
- Divide it into three plaits
- Place the plaits behind her head
✅ During the final wash, camphor should be added to the water (or applied afterward, according to some scholars).
