The Shroud of the Deceased
Shroud Cloths
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shrouded in three white cloths, which did not include a shirt, a waist-wrap, or a turban.
Sayyidina Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that a man in the state of ihram had his neck broken by his camel.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
‘Wash him with water and lote-tree leaves, shroud him in two garments, do not cover his head or face, for he will be raised on the Day of Resurrection reciting the Talbiyah.’
And those two garments were the same ones in which he had put on the ihram.
Sayyidina Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Sayyidina Mus’ab bin Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, and only a single sheet could be used to shroud him.
Sayyidina Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Mus’ab bin Umair’s (may Allah be pleased with him) sheet was small: when they covered his head his feet were exposed, and when they covered his feet his head was exposed.
Eventually the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Cover his head, and put grass over his feet.
Sayyidina Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
‘The Prophet ﷺ shrouded the martyrs of Uhud in pairs, two to a single garment, and ordered that they be buried in their blood-stained clothes. They were neither washed nor was the funeral prayer offered for them.’
Giving a Good Shroud
Sayyidina Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, during a sermon, mentioned a companion who had been buried at night in a light shroud.
He expressed displeasure at this and said:
“When you shroud your Muslim brother, shroud him well.”
Sayyidina Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
‘Wear white cloth, for it is your best clothing, and shroud your dead in it.’
Shrouding in Old Clothes
Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that Sayyidina Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) bequeathed:
“Wash my clothes and shroud me in my old garments, for the living have more right to new clothes than the dead.”
Preparing the Shroud Before Death
Sayyidina Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a woman brought a bordered cloak as a gift to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ used that cloak as a waist-wrap.
A companion (Sayyidina Abdur Rahman bin Awf) said:
‘How fine this cloak is, please give it to me.’
The Prophet ﷺ gave him that cloak.
The noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said:
“You did not do well in asking the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for the cloak, when he needed it.”
Sayyidina Abdur Rahman replied:
‘By Allah! I asked for it not to wear, but to make it my shroud.’
And that very cloak became his shroud.
