over him and burying him.

Two individuals are neither washed nor prayed over: the martyr who falls in battle against the idolaters and the miscarried fetus that never uttered a cry.

The deceased is washed an odd number of times; lotus-leaf powder is used in the first wash and a little camphor in the last. He is shrouded in three plain white cloths without a shirt or a turban. Four takbīrs are pronounced over him: after the first the imam recites Sūrat al-Fātiḥah; after the second he invokes blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ; after the third he supplicates for the deceased, saying:

“O Allah, this is Your servant, the child of Your servants. He has left the comfort and expanse of this world, his beloved possessions, and those who loved him, for the darkness of the grave and what he will meet therein. He testified that there is no god but You alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is Your servant and messenger—you know him better than we do.

O Allah, he has come to You, and You are the best of hosts. He is now in need of Your mercy, while You have no need to punish him. We have come before You seeking Your favor as intercessors for him. If he was a doer of good, increase his goodness; if he was a wrongdoer, overlook his misdeeds. Receive him with Your mercy and pleasure, protect him from the trial and torment of the grave, enlarge his grave, keep the earth from pressing upon his sides, and through Your mercy grant him safety from Your punishment until You raise him up secure and admitted to Your Garden, O Most Merciful of the merciful.”

After the fourth takbīr he says: “O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, do not test us after him, and forgive us and him.” He then gives the salām, and the body is buried in a niche grave facing the qiblah. It is lowered gently from the head side, and the one placing him in the niche says, “In the name of Allah and upon the creed of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,” and he is laid in