verify that death has in fact occurred, or because a brief delay will serve some benefit—such as allowing a larger group to perform the funeral prayer, or giving a relative time to arrive, and the like.
4 – The deceased must be washed with water. This washing is a collective obligation, not an individual one: once some Muslims perform it, the duty is lifted from the rest, whereas an individual obligation is required of every person. This is the view held by the majority of scholars; only the Mālikīs differed, considering it merely recommended.
5 – It is recommended to pay special attention to cleaning and purifying the body. The Prophet ﷺ instructed them to add lotus leaves to the water: the leaves are pounded and mixed with water, the head is washed with the resulting lather, and the rest of the body with the residue. Lotus leaves cleanse and tighten the skin, slowing decomposition.
6 – When water is mixed with pure substances, its essential nature as purifying water does not change; it remains intrinsically pure and able to purify other things.
7 – Shrouding the deceased is obligatory, and the cost of the shroud and all funeral expenses takes precedence over every other claim on the estate—debts, bequests, and inheritance—just as the living person’s maintenance expenses override other financial rights.
8 – It is forbidden to cover the head of a male pilgrim who dies while in a state of ihrām, and likewise forbidden to cover the face of a female pilgrim who dies in ihrām.
9 – Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd said: this ḥadīth proves that if a pilgrim dies, the rulings of ihrām remain in force for him. This is the position of al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad. Abū Ḥanīfah and Mālik disagreed on the basis of analogy, arguing that the act of worship has ended and the person is no longer legally responsible. Yet the textual evidence outweighs analogy.
10 – Applying perfume is prohibited for a pilgrim, whether living or deceased, male or female, because it is a form of luxury incompatible with ihrām.
11 – A pilgrim is not forbidden to handle cleansing substances that contain no fragrance, such as