● Teaching the Kalimah Taiyyibah to one nearing death:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لقنوا موتاكم لا إله إلا الله
“Teach your dying ones to say: لا الہ الا اللہ.”
Because whoever’s last words in life are لا الہ الا اللہ will enter Paradise.
● Reciting Surah Yasin beside the dying person:
Reciting Surah Yasin beside a dying person is not established from the Sunnah. The narration that mentions reciting Surah Yasin is da’if (weak).
● Kissing the deceased:
It is permissible to kiss the deceased. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) kissed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ upon his passing and wept.
● Washing the deceased:
(1) If there is a ring, watch, amulet, or cloth, etc., it should be removed.
(2) Place a cloth from the navel to the knees over the body of the deceased, then remove their clothes. During washing, except out of necessity, do not look at the private parts of the deceased, nor touch them without a cloth.
(3) First, gently press the deceased’s abdomen two or three times. Then, covering the hand with a glove of cloth or similar, clean the private parts with water.
(4) Clean the nose, teeth, mouth, and ears thoroughly with wet cotton so that during wudu one does not need to wash them more than three times.
(5) When washing the deceased, begin from the right side and from the parts of wudu.
● Important related rulings concerning the deceased:
(1) While washing, leaves of the lote tree should be boiled in the water and the body washed with it (soap or shampoo may also be used).
(2) At the end, some fragrance should be mixed in; camphor is good if available.
(3) The braids of a woman should be untied and washed thoroughly.
(4) After washing, the woman’s hair should be made into three braids and placed behind her.
(5) The washing may be done three, five, seven, or more times as needed, but it is essential to observe an odd number.
(6) Men should wash men, and women should wash women.
● A husband and wife washing each other:
A husband and wife may wash each other; indeed, this is better.
It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet ﷺ said to me:
لو مت النها قبلي لغسلتك
“If you die before me, I will wash you.”
Qadi Shawkani writes:
“This hadith is evidence that when a woman dies, her husband may wash her, and from this evidence it is also known that a woman may wash her husband.”
Amir Muhammad bin Isma’il al-San’ani says:
“A husband may wash his wife, and this is the position of the majority of scholars.”
Sayyidna Ali al-Murtada (may Allah be pleased with him) washed his wife Sayyida Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her), the beloved daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, with his own hands.
Imam Ibn al-Mundhir has reported this from great imams such as Alqamah, Jabir bin Zayd, Abdul Rahman bin al-Aswad, Sulayman bin Yasar, Abu Salamah bin Abdul Rahman, Qatadah, Hammad bin Abi Sulayman, Malik, al-Awza’i, al-Shafi’i, Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Ishaq bin Rahawayh, that a man and a woman may wash each other.
● An objection:
Some people say that since the marriage ends when either the husband or the wife dies, and they become strangers to each other. For this reason, those who hold this view do not even touch their wife’s bed.
● Response:
This is not correct at all; there are several proofs for this.
(1) Inheritance belongs to the deceased, and in describing the shares, the Qur’an uses the word “zawj” (spouse). The principle is that what was permissible for the husband and wife to see of each other before death remains permissible now.
(2) A woman observes ‘iddah after her husband’s death, and her observing ‘iddah and mourning is evidence that the marriage relationship between them has not ended.
● Description of the shroud:
(1) The shroud should be good and cover the body properly.
(2) The shroud cloth should be white.
(3) The shroud should consist of three cloths: one in place of the shalwar, another in place of the shirt, and a large sheet to wrap over both. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Indeed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shrouded in three garments; there was no shirt or turban among them.”
