His statement, “If it is not possible to wash him, then dry ablution is performed for him”: that is, if washing him—that is, washing the deceased—is not possible, then dry ablution is performed for him.

The manner of performing dry ablution is that a living person strikes his hands upon the earth, then wipes the deceased’s face and hands with them.

This impossibility may be due either to the absence of water, or to the impossibility of using it for this deceased—for example, where the body has decomposed, or where it has been burned such that it cannot be touched without the skin tearing. In such cases, dry ablution is performed for him, because washing the deceased is an ordained purification; when purification with water is impossible, we turn to its substitute, namely earth.

It has also been said that dry ablution is not performed when washing him is impossible, because this is not purification from ritual impurity; rather, it is a cleansing purification. This is why the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the women who were washing his daughter: “Wash her three times, or five times, or seven times, or more than that.” Purification from ritual impurity is not performed more than three times. Thus, if the aim is to cleanse the deceased and water cannot be used, using earth would only make him dirtier; therefore, refraining from it is more appropriate.

This is the stronger view, and it is closer to what is correct than the view that dry ablution should be performed for him.

His statement, “The one who washes the deceased must conceal what he sees, if it is not good”: that is, the one washing the deceased must conceal anything he sees of the deceased that is not good. He may see something unbecoming, whether in a physical or a non-physical sense. He may see—Allah forbid—that the deceased’s face is darkened and greatly altered from how it was during his life. It is not permissible for him to speak to people and say, “I