Section

It is recommended to carry the bier from all four sides, and it is permissible to carry it between the poles.

His statement: “Section.”

The author, may Allah have mercy on him, follows this sequence: washing the deceased, then shrouding him, then the funeral prayer, then carrying him, and burial.

His statement: “It is recommended to carry it from all four sides.” Carrying the deceased from all four sides is recommended, based on the hadith of Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, which states: “Whoever follows a funeral procession should carry the bier from all of its sides, for that is from the Sunnah.” (1) Moreover, when a person carries it from all four sides, he has borne the deceased from every direction.

The manner of carrying it from all four sides is to take hold of all the poles of the bier. This is why it is called carrying from all four sides, since the bier has four poles.

He begins at the front, with the pole on the deceased’s right while the deceased is on the bier. He then moves back to the pole behind it, then comes forward again to the pole on the deceased’s left, and then moves back. After that, he may carry it in whichever manner he wishes.

This is the view preferred by our scholars.

Some scholars said instead that it should be carried between the two poles.

His statement: “And it is permissible to carry it between the poles.” This explains the ruling on carrying it between the two poles.

Some scholars said that it is recommended to carry it between the two poles; that is, one pole should rest on his right shoulder and the other on his left shoulder. This applies when the bier is small. If it is wide, however, he places