unless there is a legitimate need.
If two brothers or two co-wives dispute over who should wash or shroud the deceased, lots are drawn. A non-Muslim has priority over the body of his non-Muslim relative. It is disliked to use saffron-dyed cloth for the shroud or to be extravagant in its quality or number; washed fabric is preferred to brand-new cloth. A child is shrouded just like an adult, in several layers. Applying ḥanūṭ (a mixture of camphor and perfumes) is recommended—some even say obligatory.
Only men are to carry the bier, even when the deceased is a woman. It is forbidden to carry it in a disgraceful manner or in a way that risks the body’s falling. For a woman, it is recommended to place a cover such as a closed bier that conceals her. Riding back after the burial is not disliked, and a Muslim may accompany the funeral of his non-Muslim relative. Raising voices at a funeral or accompanying it with fire is discouraged.
If Muslims and non-Muslims are found together after a calamity, all the bodies must be washed and the funeral prayer offered. The officiant may pray once over everyone, intending the Muslims—that is preferable and explicitly stated—or he may pray over each body individually, saying for each, “O Allah, forgive him if he was a Muslim.” The prayer is only valid after washing, and it is disliked before the shroud is in place. If someone dies in a collapse and cannot be retrieved or washed, no prayer is performed.
According to the school, neither the imam nor the burial should precede the presence of the bier or the readiness of the grave. Praying over the deceased inside a mosque is permissible, and it is recommended that the worshippers form three rows or more. If the prayer has been performed and someone who missed it arrives, he may pray individually, while those who have already prayed do not repeat it. The prayer is not delayed merely to increase the congregation. One who has killed himself is treated like others in washing and prayer.
If the imam intends the absent-person prayer and the follower intends the present-person prayer, or the reverse, the prayer remains valid.
Burial in a cemetery is preferable, while spending the night there is disliked. It is recommended to drape a cloth over the grave—even for a man—and to say, “In the name of Allah, and upon the religion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” Nothing should be spread beneath the body, nor any cushion placed. Burying in a coffin is disliked except in wet or loose ground. Burial at night or during the times when prayer is discouraged is lawful if those times were not deliberately chosen, though other times are better.
Plastering, building over, or inscribing a grave is disliked, and any structure erected in a public (endowed) cemetery must be removed. It is recommended to sprinkle water over the grave, place gravel on it, and set a stone or wooden marker at its head. Locating the graves of relatives together is commendable. Visiting graves is encouraged for men; for women it is disliked—some say forbidden, others permissible. The visitor should offer greetings, recite, and supplicate.
Transferring the deceased to another land is forbidden—some hold it merely disliked—except when the destination is near Mecca, Medina, or Jerusalem, as explicitly stated. Exhuming a body after burial for transfer or any other purpose is likewise forbidden, except in cases of necessity, such as if the deceased was buried without being washed or was interred on usurped land or in a stolen shroud.