THE CHAPTER OF THE DEAD · 33 – HOW TO WASH A CORPSE?
Umm Atiyya, may Allah be pleased with her, reported:
That when the Prophet sallallahu aleyhi wa sallam’s daughter (Zaynab) passed away, she came to us and said, “Wash Zaynab three times or five times; and if you see fit, more than that. Use water and sidr during the washing. And at the end place kafur or something of kafur. When you finish washing her, call me.” We finished washing Zaynab and called the Prophet sallallahu aleyhi wa sallam, and he gave us his shawl and said, “Wrap it around Zaynab’s body.” [67]
COMMENTARY
The daughter of the Prophet sallallahu aleyhi wa sallam mentioned here is Zaynab, who was the wife of Abu al-As. In another hadith, numbered 3157, Umm Gulsum is mentioned, but according to what is clarified in Muslim’s narration, it is essential that this be Zaynab, as Umm Gulsum passed away during the Battle of Badr. We have recorded it as such in the translation.
In Malik's narration, the word "Haku" has been explained to refer to a garment (izar), but the narrator in the Musaddad narration did not say the sentence "(she) came to us.” Washing the deceased with sidr and then using kafur is sunnah.
Umm Atiyya (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
(When the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, lost his daughter) we combed her hair and made three braids.
Umm Atiyya (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) plaited his daughter’s hair into three braids, leaving one section hanging down at the back and two sections to the sides of her head.
Umm Atiyya (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) instructed them when washing his daughter’s body, “Begin washing my daughter from her right side and from the limbs of purification.”
A narration similar to the preceding hadith was reported from Ummu Atiyya.
This narration added the phrase: "If you deem it necessary, wash seven or more times."
According to the narration of Muhammad ibn-i Sirin (may Allah be pleased with him), he learned how to wash a deceased body from Umm Atiyya. She would wash the body twice with water mixed with sidir, and on the third time with water and camphor.
**Note:** *Sidir* is explained as acting like a scrub due to its ability to loosen the body and remove dirt. Camphor is described as hardening the body, imparting a pleasant fragrance, preventing insects from consuming it in the grave.
Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) delivered a sermon one day, mentioning a person among his companions who had died and been buried at night wrapped in an inadequate shroud (without prayer being offered for him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) rebuked and forbade burying the deceased at night unless it was unavoidable. He said: “When any of you shrouds a believing brother, let him make his shroud beautiful.”
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) was wrapped in a brocade cloth with spots of red, then it was removed from him.
Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) say: “When anyone among you dies, and his family has the means for it, let them shroud him in a hibr fabric.”
COMMENTARY:
The hibr fabric mentioned in these two hadiths is a striped cloth woven in Yemen. It was the most valuable cloth woven at that time. Those who have the means are recommended to use it as a shroud.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) was shrouded in three pieces of white Yemeni cloth, wherein there were neither a qamis nor a sirwal.
EXPLANATION:
It is sunna for men that the shroud consists of three pieces: a qamis, an izar, and a head covering (lifafa). For women, these are accompanied by a headscarf and a chest band.
The shroud of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) was of three pieces, but the third piece was not a qamis. Imam Shafi’i understood the statement of Aisha that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) was not shrouded in a qamis or sirwal to mean that a qamis and sirwal are not required in the shroud. The essential thing is that the shroud consists of three pieces. Imam Malik said that a qamis and sirwal are not considered part of the shroud, and that these three pieces were more than a qamis and sirwal. According to him, a qamis and sirwal are recommended.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
A narration similar to the preceding hadith was transmitted, except that in the narration of Hafs, it was mentioned that it was wrapped in two cloths of linen. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “Yes, indeed, a piece of himbra fabric was brought, but the Companions rejected it. They did not shroud the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) with it.” [74]
It is narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was shrouded in three Najran cloths—(one being) two pieces of cloth (and the other) the shirt in which he died.
Abu Dawud said: Osman narrates that he was shrouded in three pieces – a red mantle and the shirt in which he died. [75]