—namely, a wife may wash her husband, and a female slave may wash her master, and the reverse is likewise permitted; each of the two may wash the other.
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A man or a woman may wash a child under seven years of age, whether the child is male or female, because the child’s nakedness carries no legal weight during life and therefore none after death. In addition, the Prophet’s son Ibrāhīm was washed by women. Ibn al-Mundhir said, “Everyone from whom we have knowledge agrees that a woman may wash a small boy without a screen, may touch his private parts, and may look at them.”
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The minimum obligation is to wash the deceased once. Limiting the washing to a single time is disliked if nothing issues from the body; if any discharge appears, stopping at one wash is forbidden as long as the discharge continues, up to seven washes. When nothing comes out, the recommended practice is three washes, and this is unanimously regarded as sunnah.
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It is preferable for the washer to conclude with an odd number of washes—three, five, or seven.
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The water should be mixed with sidr (lotus-leaf powder), for it cleanses and fortifies the body.
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Water whose properties have changed through contact with a pure substance still retains its purifying character.
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The wise Lawgiver left the decision to increase the number of washes to the judgment of the washer, to be governed by need not personal whim. Some scholars said it is better not to exceed seven washes, but the hadith indicates otherwise; their statement should therefore be understood as having been made because the report had not reached them.
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The body is to be perfumed during the last wash so that the fragrance is not carried away with the water.
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Washing begins with the honoured limbs: the right side and the ablution parts—the face, hands, head, and feet. The two guidelines do not conflict; rather, one starts with the ablution parts while giving precedence to the right side.
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The hair is to be divided into plaits and placed behind the head of the deceased, whether male or female, and it should not be combed lest it break. This braiding was not ordered by the Prophet ﷺ himself; rather, the women who washed the body did it in his presence and with his approval.
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It is forbidden to shave the head of the deceased or the pubic hair, for that would entail touching the private parts, and they are not to be cut.