Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (1/343)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

washing the deceased in this hadith is simply cleansing, because the prescribed ritual act of purification is limited to three times and is not left to a person’s discretion, whereas in this hadith the Prophet ﷺ left the matter to their judgment.

It may be said: He left the matter to their judgment only with regard to increasing the number of washings, not with regard to the basic obligation of washing. Yet the first evidence is sufficient in this regard. Indeed, washing the deceased is a matter known by necessity and so widely established as to be nearly mass-transmitted.

This applies whether the person died suddenly, in an accident, or from an illness, and whether young or old.

Does this include a miscarried fetus?

There is some detail: if the soul has been breathed into it, it is washed, shrouded, and the funeral prayer is offered over it. If the soul has not been breathed into it, then this is not done.

The soul is breathed into it once it has completed four months, due to the hadith of Abdullah ibn Masud, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the truthful one whose truthfulness was affirmed, told us: “Each of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days as a drop of fluid; then he becomes a clinging clot for a similar period; then he becomes a morsel of flesh for a similar period. Then the angel is sent to him and commanded to write four matters: his provision, his lifespan, his deeds, and whether he will be wretched or blessed. Then the soul is breathed into him.” (1) The Prophet ﷺ could not have known this without revelation, since there is no room for independent reasoning in such matters.

(1) Abu Awanah narrated it, with this wording, in his Mustakhraj through the chain: Wahb ibn Jarir, from Shubah, from al-Amash, who said: “I heard Zayd ibn Wahb, from Abdullah ibn Masud,” relating it. Wahb ibn Jarir is trustworthy, and he was narrated from by the six major hadith collectors. The rest of the chain is found in al-Bukhari, and the basic hadith is recorded by al-Bukhari, Book of Divine Decree, first chapter, no. 6594; and Muslim, Book of Divine Decree, chapter: “How the human being is created in his mother’s womb,” no. 2643, but without the word “nutfah” (drop of fluid). And Allah knows best.

تغسيلِ الميْتِ فيه التنظيف، لأنَّ التَّعبُّد بالطَّهارة حدّه ثلاث، ولا يُوْكَلُ إلى رأي الإِنسان، وفي هذا الحديث وَكَلَ النبيُّ ﷺ الأمْرَ إِلى رأيهنَّ. وقد يقال: إِنَّه وَكَلَ الأمر إلى رأيهن في زيادة عدد الغسلات لا في أصل الغُسْل، لكنَّ الدَّليل الأول كافٍ في ذلك، بل إِنَّ تغسيلَ الأمواتِ أَمْرٌ معلوم بالضَّرورة، ومشهور شُهْرَة يكاد يكون متواتراً. وسواء مات فجأة، أو بحادث، أم بمرضٍ، أم كان صغيراً، أم كبيراً. وهل يشمل السَّقط؟ فيه تفصيل: إِن نُفِخت فيه الرُّوح غُسِّل، وكُفِّنَ، وصُلِّيَ عليه، وإِن لم تُنْفَخ فيه الرُّوح فلا. وتُنْفَخُ الرُّوح فيه إِذا تَمَّ له أربعة أشْهُرٍ؛ لحديث عبد الله بن مسعود قال: حدَّثنا رسول الله ﷺ وهو الصَّادق المصدوق: «إِنَّ أحدَكُم يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ في بَطْن أُمِّه، أربعين يوماً نُطْفَةً، ثم يكون عَلَقَةً مثل ذلك، ثم يكون مُضْغَة مثل ذلك، ثم يُرْسَل إِليه الملك، فيُؤمَرُ بأربع كلمات، بِكَتْبِ: رِزْقِهِ، وأَجَلِهِ، وعَمَلِه، وشقيٌّ أم سعيد، ثم يَنْفُخُ فيه الرُّوح» (١)، وهذا لا يعلمه النبيُّ ﷺ بدون وَحْي إِذ لا مَدْخل للاجتهاد فيه.

(١) رواه ـ بهذا السياق ـ أبو عوانة في «مستخرجه» من طريق: وهب بن جرير عن شعبة عن الأعمش قال: سمعت زيد بن وهب، عن عبد الله بن مسعود به. ووهب بن جرير: ثقة، روى له الجماعة، وباقي الإِسناد عند البخاري، وأصل الحديث عند البخاري، كتاب القدر: الباب الأول، رقم (٦٥٩٤)، ومسلم، كتاب القدر: باب كيفية خلق الآدمي في بطن أمه، رقم (٢٦٤٣) دون قوله: «نطفة»، والله أعلم.