Book of Funeral Rites

One should make frequent mention of death and prepare for it through repentance and by restoring to people whatever wrongs one has committed against them; this duty is even more pressing for the sick. The person in the agony of death is laid on his right side facing the qiblah, which is the sound view. If that cannot be done because the place is too cramped or the like, he is placed on his back with his face and the soles of his feet toward the qiblah. He is prompted to utter the shahadah without harassing him, Surah Ya Sin is recited in his presence, and he should entertain a good opinion of his Lord—Exalted is He.

Once death has occurred, his eyes are closed, his jaws are bound with a band, his joints are loosened, his entire body is covered with a light cloth, and a weight is placed on his abdomen. He is then set upon a bier or similar support, his clothes are removed, and he is again oriented toward the qiblah as he was while dying. The most gentle of his unmarriageable relatives should take charge of this.

As soon as death is certain, he is to be washed without delay. Washing, shrouding, performing the funeral prayer, and burying him are communal obligations. The minimum washing is to let water flow over the whole body after removing any impurity. According to the sound position, the washer need have no specific intention; therefore, drowning counts as a wash, as does being washed by a non-Muslim.

I say: the explicit, sound opinion is that a drowned person must nevertheless be washed, and Allah knows best. The most complete manner is to place him in a screened, empty spot on a plank, wash him while he is wearing a shirt with cold water, seat the body on the washing board leaning it backward, place one’s right hand on his shoulder with the thumb in the nape of his neck, support his back against one’s right knee, and with the left hand press firmly along the abdomen to expel its contents. Then he is laid on his back and, with the left hand wrapped in a cloth reserved for the private parts, those areas are washed, then