three pieces, it is still valid. The head-covering is placed over the long shirt yet beneath the outer sheet, and her hair is laid across her chest. The hair of the deceased—whether head or beard—is neither combed nor braided, the nails are not trimmed, and the hair is not plaited. Before the body is wrapped, the shrouds are perfumed with incense an odd number of times.

When they have finished preparing him, they perform the funeral prayer. The person with the greatest right to lead it is the ruler, if he is present; if not, it is recommended to put forward the local imam, then the legal guardian (walī). Should someone other than the ruler or the walī lead the prayer, the walī repeats it. Once the walī has led the prayer, no one else may repeat it. If the deceased is buried without the funeral prayer, it is offered at his grave.

The prayer consists of four takbīrs. After the first takbīr the imam praises Allah, after the second he invokes blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, after the third he supplicates for himself, the deceased, and the Muslims, and after the fourth he gives the salām. The funeral prayer is not to be offered in a congregational mosque.

When they carry the bier they grasp its four corners and walk briskly, though without running. Upon reaching the grave it is disliked for anyone to sit before the bier has been set down from the bearers’ shoulders. The grave is dug with a lateral niche (laḥd), and the deceased is placed in it from the side facing the qiblah. As he is lowered, the one placing him says, “In the name of Allah and upon the way of the Messenger of Allah.” He is turned toward the qiblah, the shroud’s knot is untied, and bricks of raw clay are arranged over him; baked bricks and wood are disliked, while reeds are permissible. Earth is then heaped over the grave, forming a mound, and it is not plastered.

A newborn who cries after birth is given a name, washed, and prayed over; if he does not cry, he is wrapped in a piece of cloth and no prayer is performed for him.