Book of Funerals

It is recommended to visit the sick and to remind him of repentance and of drawing up a will.

When death approaches, one should moisten his throat with water or another drink and wet his lips, then prompt him to say, “There is no god but Allah” once, not repeating it more than three times unless he speaks afterward, in which case he is gently prompted again.1 Sūrah Yā-Sīn should be recited beside him, and he is to be turned to face the qiblah.2

Once he has died, it is recommended to close his eyes, bind his jaw, loosen his joints, remove his clothes, cover him with a cloth,3 place a piece of iron on his abdomen, lay him on the washing bier with his head slightly inclined toward his feet, hasten his preparation—unless he died suddenly—carry out his bequests, and it is obligatory to settle his debts.

Section

Washing the deceased, shrouding him, performing the funeral prayer over him, and burying him are collective obligations.4

The person with the greatest right to wash him is the one he appointed in his will, then his father, then his grandfather, followed by the nearest male relatives in order of agnatic kinship, and then the rest of his blood relatives. In the case of a woman, priority goes to the one she appointed, then to her closest female relatives in succession. Each spouse may wash the other,5 and the same applies to a master and his concubine. A man or a woman may wash only a child under seven years of age.6