Firstly, it is obligatory to carry the deceased and follow the funeral.
This is one of the rights that the dead Muslim has over the Muslims,
which will bring great reward and virtue to the one who does it. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever attends the funeral from the house (of the deceased) [according
to one report: whoever follows the funeral of a Muslim out of faith and
the hope of reward] until the funeral prayer is offered will have one
qeeraat, and whoever attends the funeral until the deceased is buried
will have two qeeraats.” He was asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, what are
the two qeeraats?” He said, “Like two huge mountains.” (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, al-Janaa’iz, 1240). It is not permitted to follow funerals in manners that go against the sharee’ah. That includes: Crying or weeping in a loud voice;
following it with incense (bukhoor) etc.; reciting dhikr in a loud voice
in front of the coffin as it is being carried, because that is bid’ah –
Qays ibn ‘Abbaad said: “The companions of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to regard it as makrooh
to raise the voice in front of the coffin” – and because it is an
imitation of the Christians. Secondly: The burial Muslims should not be buried with kaafirs, nor kaafirs with Muslims. The Muslim should be buried in the Muslim graveyard. The Sunnah is to put the deceased into
the grave from the end, then he should be turned onto his right side in
the grave, with his face facing towards the qiblah. The one who puts
him into the lahd (niche in the grave) should say, “Bismillaahi wa ‘ala
sunnat Rasool-Allaahi or ‘ala millat Rasool-Allaahi (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) (In the name of Allaah and according to the
Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah or according to the religion of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)).” (narrated by al-Tirmidhi, al-Janaa’iz 967; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 836) It is mustahabb for those who are at
the grave to throw handfuls of earth, three handfuls scooped up in both
hands, after the lahd has been sealed. After the burial is complete, there are several things which are Sunnah: To make the grave a little higher than
the ground, approximately a handspan, and not to make it level with the
ground, so that it may be distinguished as a grave and respected, and
not subjected to disrespect. It should be made approximately a handspan
higher than the ground, and there is nothing wrong with placing a marker
such as a stone or something similar, so that others of his family may
be buried near him later on. Water should be sprinkled on the grave so
that the soil will settle and not fly around. No one should stand by the
grave telling the deceased that he will be questioned soon etc., as is
the custom among some people Rather people should stand at the grave and
pray for the deceased to be made steadfast and for forgiveness for him.
Those who are present should be told to do this, because of the hadeeth
of ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said:
“When the deceased had been buried, the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) would stand by (the grave) and say: ‘Pray for
forgiveness for your brother and ask for him to be made steadfast, for
even now is he being questioned.’” (narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Janaa’iz,
2804; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood,
2758). Nothing of the Qur’aan should be
recited at the graveside, because this is bid’ah. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do this, and neither did his
noble Companions. It is haraam to build up graves or to plaster them or
to write anything on them, because Jaabir said: “The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to plaster
graves with gypsum, to sit on them or to build anything over them.”
(Narrated by Muslim, al-Janaa’iz, 1610. According to Abu Dawood, “He
forbade us to plaster graves with gypsum, to write on them or to step
on them.” (al-Janaa’iz, 3226. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
Sunan Abi Dawood, 2763)
The Shroud (Kafan) of a female should
consist of five white garments, (Two winding sheet, a long loose
sleeveless shirt {From shoulder to feet}, a waist wrapper, and a head
veil ), these should be large enough to cover the whole body and may be
perfumed with incense, a loin cloth may be used to bind the upper part
of her legs, use 4 tie ropes, each one is 7 feet long. Steps of shrouding : The garments are spread out ( First:
winding sheets {7 x 7 feet}, Second: the long loose sleeveless shirt {3
1/2 x 14 feet, with a hole in the middle line for the head}, Third:
waist wrapper {6 feet x 3 1/2 feet }, Fourth head veil {a 4x4 square
feet white sheet}, and Fifth: the loin cloth {12 inches wide x 4 feet
long} ). The deceased, covered with a sheet, is lifted and laid on her back on the shroud. Some
scent or perfume may be put on those parts of the body upon which one
rests during prostration, that is the forehead, nose, hands, knees, and
feet. The loin cloth is bound round her upper legs (Acts like underwear). The waist wrapper is tied in place. Put on the sleeveless shirt (Long to cover the body from the shoulder to the feet) . Put the head veil. The
deceased’s left hand should be placed on her chest, then put her right
hand on the left hand like the way in the Salat (Prayer). The
edge of the top sheet is folded over the deceased right side, then the
other edge over his left side. Then the second sheet should be folded
the same way. These sheets
should be fastened with a piece of cloth {Tie ropes}, one above the
head, another under the feet, and two around the body. NOTE: There is no Islamic teaching of writing any thing on the shrouds. read more @ http://www.justmuslim.org/death-funerals/shrouding-the-female
When a Muslim
dies, it is the responsibility of his family or other Muslims to wash
him according to the Islamic rites of washing the deceased. Two or three
persons may perform the washing. The person(s) who may wash the deceased should : Be a trustworthy, and honest adult Muslim(s). Know the Islamic way of washing the dead and be able to carry out the washing. Not make any comment on the body of the deceased. Note: If the deceased is a male, then ONLY males should wash him. If the deceased is a female, then ONLY females should wash her. For a married person, the spouse may perform the washing. For a child, either males or females may do the washing. Place of washing : The
deceased’s body should be washed in a clean, secluded, and private
place where clean water and soap are available. Gloves or pieces of
cloth are needed. The body of the deceased should be washed with water and, if available, lotus leaves, or camphor (To be used in the final wash). The washing should be done three or five, or any more odd number of times if necessary. Steps of washing : The
body of the deceased should be placed on a table or alike, the
deceased’s clothes should be removed, and the body should be covered
with a sheet of cloth. The
head and the upper body should be raised slightly to insure the washing
water with exudations from the body flows down and does not run back to
the body. The
Aura (Private parts) of the deceased should be covered with a piece of
cloth (The Aura of a male is from the belly button to the knee in the
presence of males, for the female is the same in the presence of
females). The washer should start washing by saying:" Bismil - lah "," In the name of Allah ". The
washer winds a piece of cloth around his hand, and with this he cleans
away any impurities from the body using water. Then he should dispose of
this piece. The
washer should take another piece of cloth around his hand, press
lightly the stomach of the deceased so as so to expel, if possible, any
remnants from it, and then wash the body of all impurities using water.
Then he should dispose this piece of cloth. The
washer should take another piece of cloth around his hand (May use
gloves), and wash the covered private parts, then dispose of this piece
of cloth. The washer should perform Wudu (Ablution) on the deceased without inserting the water in the nose and in the mouth. The
washer should clean the body with water and soap (If available),
starting from the head (hair, face and beard {Men}), then the upper
right side of the body then the left side, after that the lower right
side then the lower left. In
the case of a female, her hair should be loosened, washed, combed, and
be braided in three braids, and placed behind her back. The
washing should be done three times, or five times, or seven times, as
needed, providing that after washing the head, wash the right side
before the left, and the upper parts before the lower ones. In the last wash, the washer may use camphor, or some perfume with the water. After that the body should be dried with clean towel. Then the body should be totally covered with a white sheet. You now get ready to start the shrouding. Special Note :
In case the deceased is a female in her menstrual period or have child
birth bleeding, padding should be used to prevent blood from leaving the
body. Note: It is recommended that those who performed the washing should take a bath . It is recommended that those who performed the washing should make Wudu. All
of this is based on authentic Hadith that Um Atiyah narrated that: "
When the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) died, he instructed us:‘
Wash her three times, or more than that if you feel it is necessary,
with water and sidr(good smelling leaves), and then after the last wash
apply some camphor to the body , then loosen her hair, wash it, comb it,
and make it in three braids laid behind her back " (Bukhari &
Muslim). Note: There is no Islamic teaching of reading the Quran during the Ghusul. There is no Islamic teaching of making special dthiker (Certain words to remember Allah) during the Ghusul. Shrouding The Deceased Muslim Shourding
should start Just after washing the body of the deceased. It is
recommended to use white sheets from inexpensive material. Extravagance
is not recommended in the Kafan (Shroud). Aisha
relates that : " When the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) died, he was
shrouded in three white sheets from Yemen" (Bukhari & Muslim). The shroud (kafan) of a male: The
Kafan of a male should consist of three white winding sheets about{7 x 7
feet}, clean and large enough to conceal the whole body, after having
been perfumed with incense. Use 4 tie ropes, each 7 feet long The material of the sheet should not be silk, nor should any gold be used. Steps of shrouding : The winding sheets should be spread out one on the top of the other . The deceased, covered with a sheet, is lifted and laid on his back on the winding sheets. Some
scent or perfume may be put on those parts of the body upon which one
rests during prostration, that is the forehead, nose, hands, knees, and
feet. If
it is possible the deceased’s left hand should be placed on his chest,
then put his right hand on the left hand like the way in the Salat
(Prayer). The
edge of the top sheet is folded over the deceased right side, then the
other edge over his left side. Then the second sheet should be folded
the same way. The third and the largest sheet should be treated the same
way. These
sheets should be fastened with a piece of cloth {Tie ropes}, one above
the head, another under the feet, and two around the body.
