It is recommended to add camphor to the final wash, for it firms the body, perfumes it, and cools it; therefore it is left to the last rinse so that its effect endures.

Next the body is dried with a cloth, the moustache is trimmed, the nails are clipped if they are long, and the armpit hair is removed; whatever is cut is placed in the shroud. A woman’s hair is plaited into three braids and laid behind her head.

If washing is impossible—because no water is available, or because the body would be damaged by washing, as with a leper or a person who has been burned—or if the deceased is a woman attended only by men among whom there is no husband, or a man attended only by women among whom there is no wife, then the deceased is given tayammum (dry purification with earth). The washer wipes the face and hands of the deceased with earth over a covering on his own hand. Should part of the body be washable while another part is not, the portion that can be washed must be washed, and tayammum is performed for the remainder.

It is recommended—though not obligatory—for the one who has washed the deceased to perform ghusl (a full ritual bath) afterward.

Fourth: Rulings on shrouding

Once the washing and drying are complete, the deceased should be shrouded. The shroud must cover the body entirely, and it is recommended that it be clean and white, whether new—which is preferable—or previously laundered.