70 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever washes a corpse must perform a full ritual bath, and whoever carries it must perform ablution.” Recorded by Ahmad, al-Nasa’i, and al-Tirmidhi, who graded it ḥasan.
Ahmad remarked, “Nothing in this chapter is sound.” (1)
Hadith grading:
Most leading hadith authorities consider the report mawqūf (ascribed only to the Companion), though it is ḥasan because of its many routes.
• Al-Bayhaqi said, “The correct view is that it is mawqūf.”
• Al-Bukhari said, “What appears more likely is that it is mawqūf.”
• Ibn Abi Hatim stated, “The reliable transmitters do not raise it; it is only mawqūf.”
• Al-Rafiʿi said, “The hadith scholars have not authenticated any marfūʿ narration on this question.”
• Imam Ahmad declared, “Nothing in this chapter is authentic.”
• Al-Dhahabi said, “I know of no established hadith in this regard.”
• Ibn al-Mundhir said, “No hadith in the chapter is proven.”
• Ibn al-Madini likewise said, “Nothing in this chapter is sound.”
Even so, al-Tirmidhi and al-Dhahabi graded it ḥasan, while Ibn Hibban, Ibn al-Qattan, Ibn Hazm, Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId, and al-Albani ruled it ṣaḥīḥ. Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId noted, “Its transmitters are the transmitters of Muslim.”
Other narrations on the subject:
– A report from ʿA’ishah is recorded by Ahmad and Abu Dawud; it contains Musʿab ibn Shaybah, whom Ahmad, Abu Zurʿah, and al-Bukhari regarded as weak, though Ibn Khuzaymah deemed the report sound.
– A report from Hudhayfah exists, but Ibn Abi Hatim and al-Darqutni said, “It is not established.”
Glossary:
• maytan (corpse): the word may be pronounced with or without a doubled yā’. For one who is alive but destined to die, the form miyyat (with a doubled yā’) is used, as in the verse, “Indeed you…”