Chapter: The Funeral Prayer

When a man is on the point of death he is turned to face the qiblah, lying on his right side, and is prompted to utter the two testimonies of faith. Once he dies, his jaw is tied and his eyes are closed. When they wish to wash him, they lay him on a bier and cover his private parts with a cloth, remove his clothes, and perform ablution for him—without rinsing the mouth or nostrils. Water is then poured over him, and the bier is perfumed with incense an odd number of times. The water should be boiled with sidr (lote leaves) or with harad, and if neither is available, plain water suffices; his head and beard are washed with khitmi (marsh-mallow).

Next he is laid on his left side and washed with water and sidr until it is thought that the water has reached the surface beneath him, then placed on his right side and washed in the same way. He is then sat up, supported, and his abdomen is gently massaged; if anything is discharged, it is washed away without repeating the entire washing.

He is dried with a cloth, placed in his shroud, fragrant ointment (ḥanūṭ) is applied to his head and beard, and camphor to the points of prostration.

The Sunnah is to shroud a man in three pieces: a waist-wrapper, a long shirt, and an outer sheet; if they make do with two pieces, it is permissible.

When they begin wrapping the outer sheet, they start with the left side and cast it over him, then the right; if they fear the shroud may come loose, they may tie it.

A woman is shrouded in five pieces: a waist-wrapper, a long shirt, a head-covering, a cloth with which her breasts are bound, and an outer sheet; if they limit themselves to—