His statement, “He is then dried with a cloth,” means that after the body has been washed, it is recommended that it be dried, for if it remains damp when it is shrouded, this will affect the shroud. It is therefore preferable to dry it with a cloth.

This purification differs from that of the living in several respects:

Among them is that the purification of the living does not exceed three washings, whereas this may extend to seven or more.

Another is that, in purifying the deceased, drying is preferable. As for the purification of the living, it has been said that it is preferable not to dry oneself; and it has also been said that drying and not drying are alike, and that it is permissible: one may do either as one wishes.

His statement, “Her hair is braided into three plaits and let down behind her,” means that a woman’s hair is made into three braids and let down behind her.

The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ “instructed the women who were washing his daughter to braid her hair into three plaits and let it down behind her” (1).

Question: What is the ruling on gold teeth and other such items that a person had fitted during his lifetime? Are they buried with him, or removed?

Answer: As for that which has no value, there is no harm in burying it with him, such as teeth made of materials other than gold and silver, or a nose made of a material other than gold. But anything of value should be removed, unless there is fear that doing so would mutilate the body—for example, if removing a tooth would result in mutilation—in which case it should remain with him. Then, if the heirs wish, after the deceased’s body has decomposed, they may exhume the grave and take the gold; they are permitted to do so.