✦ Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
Islam permits spouses to give ghusl (ritual washing) to each other upon death, and this is supported by authentic narrations and the practice of the Companions.
➊ Ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
The Prophet ﷺ said to her:
«لو مت قبلي لغسلتك»
“If you were to die before me, I would surely wash you (myself).”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah 1197, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 700, Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 67, Musnad Aḥmad 6/228, Sunan al-Dāramī 1/37, al-Bayhaqī 3/396, al-Dāraquṭnī 2/74]
➋ Narration from ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
«لو استقبلت من أمري ما استدبرت ما غسل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا نساؤه»
“If I had known then what I know now, none but the wives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have washed him.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah 1196, Abū Dāwūd 3141, Ibn Mājah 1464, Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr 3/472, al-Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah 1/474]
➌ Will of Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها:
She instructed that ʿAlī رضي الله عنه should perform her ghusl.
[Dāraquṭnī 2/79, authenticated by Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq – Taʿlīq ʿalā Sayl al-Salām 3/335]
➍ ʿAlī رضي الله عنه fulfilled this will and washed her himself.
[Dāraquṭnī 2/79, Tartīb al-Musnad li’l-Shāfiʿī 1/206, Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/43, al-Bayhaqī 3/396]
➎ Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه washed his wife Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays رضي الله عنها.
[al-Bayhaqī 3/397]
Imām al-Bayhaqī declared the narration weak, but he also cited supporting narrations.
[See: al-Albānī – al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah 1/430]
Based on the authentic narrations and practice of the righteous predecessors, the correct and stronger opinion is:
A husband and wife may give ghusl to one another after death.
This is the view held by:
References:
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/344, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/677, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/407, al-Muḥallā bi’l-Āthār 3/405, Sabil al-Salām 2/742, Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 67]
❖ A Husband and Wife Are Most Entitled to Perform Ghusl for One Another
Islam permits spouses to give ghusl (ritual washing) to each other upon death, and this is supported by authentic narrations and the practice of the Companions.
❖ Evidences from the Sunnah and Practice of the Salaf
➊ Ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
The Prophet ﷺ said to her:
«لو مت قبلي لغسلتك»
“If you were to die before me, I would surely wash you (myself).”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah 1197, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 700, Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 67, Musnad Aḥmad 6/228, Sunan al-Dāramī 1/37, al-Bayhaqī 3/396, al-Dāraquṭnī 2/74]
➋ Narration from ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
«لو استقبلت من أمري ما استدبرت ما غسل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا نساؤه»
“If I had known then what I know now, none but the wives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have washed him.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah 1196, Abū Dāwūd 3141, Ibn Mājah 1464, Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr 3/472, al-Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah 1/474]
➌ Will of Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها:
She instructed that ʿAlī رضي الله عنه should perform her ghusl.
[Dāraquṭnī 2/79, authenticated by Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq – Taʿlīq ʿalā Sayl al-Salām 3/335]
➍ ʿAlī رضي الله عنه fulfilled this will and washed her himself.
[Dāraquṭnī 2/79, Tartīb al-Musnad li’l-Shāfiʿī 1/206, Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/43, al-Bayhaqī 3/396]
➎ Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه washed his wife Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays رضي الله عنها.
[al-Bayhaqī 3/397]
Imām al-Bayhaqī declared the narration weak, but he also cited supporting narrations.
[See: al-Albānī – al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah 1/430]
❖ Scholarly Opinions
- Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله:
None of the Companions objected to ʿAlī or Asmāʾ for performing the ghusl, which implies Ijmāʿ (consensus).
[Nayl al-Awṭār 2/676] - Majority of scholars (jumhūr):
Spouses may perform ghusl for each other.
❖ Ḥanafī View:
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله:
The husband cannot give ghusl to his wife. Even if no one else is available, he may not do so; instead, tayammum should be performed.
However, the wife may wash her deceased husband.
[al-Mughnī 3/461, al-Ḥāwī 3/461, al-Umm 1/472, Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/304, al-Mabsūṭ 2/71, Ḥāshiyat al-Dusūqī 1/408, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/676]
✔ Rājiḥ (Strongest) Opinion:
Based on the authentic narrations and practice of the righteous predecessors, the correct and stronger opinion is:
A husband and wife may give ghusl to one another after death.This is the view held by:
- Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله
- Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān رحمه الله
- Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله
- Amīr Ṣanʿānī رحمه الله
- Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله
References:
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/344, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/677, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/407, al-Muḥallā bi’l-Āthār 3/405, Sabil al-Salām 2/742, Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 67]
