(1) Book of Funerals
78 – The scholars unanimously agree that a woman may wash her deceased husband (2).
79 – They unanimously agree that a woman may wash a small boy (3).
80 – They unanimously agree that the deceased is given the same ritual bath prescribed for major impurity (4).
81 – They unanimously agree that the deceased must not be shrouded in silk (5).
82 – They unanimously agree that if a newborn shows clear signs of life and cries out, the funeral prayer is performed for him (6).
83 – They unanimously agree that when a free man and a slave are both present, the one who stands closest to the imam is the free man.
84 – They unanimously agree that the person offering the funeral prayer raises his hands for the first takbir he pronounces (7).
85 – They unanimously agree that burying the dead is a communal obligation; once some Muslims undertake it, the duty is lifted from the rest.
(1) Folio 4a.
(2) The Q manuscript (fol. 1021) adds: “during her waiting period, and they differed concerning the woman in a revocable divorce.”
(3) The Q manuscript (fol. 1022) reads: “the man.”
(4) Al-Sanani, Subul al-Salam, 1:470: “According to the majority, washing the deceased is an act of worship; it therefore requires the same conditions as obligatory or recommended ghusl.”
(5) Omitted in the T edition.
(6) Abu Bakr al-Kasani, Bada’iʿ al-Sana’iʿ, 1:302: “If the newborn utters a cry, moves a limb, or shows any other sign of life, there is unanimous agreement that he must be washed, as reported above; the appearance of such signs proves that he was alive, so his subsequent death is that of a living person and he is washed. Should the midwife or the mother testify to these signs, their report is accepted for the purposes of washing and the funeral prayer, for a single trustworthy witness is admissible in acts of worship. For inheritance, however, the mother’s statement is unanimously rejected because of suspected personal benefit, and likewise the midwife’s according to Abu Hanifa, whereas his two companions accept it if she is upright, as detailed elsewhere.” For further discussion see al-Majmuʿ, 5:214-215; al-Mughni, 2:200; al-Furuʿ, 2:210.
(7) The Q manuscript (fol. 1031) adds: “he pronounces the takbir and …”.