THE SHROUD
The Last Dress

The Material:

It is better that the shroud should be made from a clean white cloth. The Prophet (SAW) has commanded: "Wear your white garments, for they are among your best garments, and shroud your dead in them." (Tirmizi)

Quantity of Material:

The size of the shroud should be enough to cover the entire body. An inadequate shroud (unless necessary or for a valid reason) is disliked in our religion. The Prophet (SAW), one day in the course of his sermon, made a mention of a person among his Companions who had died and had been wrapped in a shroud not long (enough to cover his whole body) and was buried during the night . The Apostle of Allah (SAW) reprimanded (the audience)that a person was buried during the night (in a state that) funeral prayer could not be offered (over him by the Messenger of Allah). (And this is permissible only) when it becomes a dire necessity for a man. The Apostle of Allah (SAW) also said: "When any one of you shrouds his brother, he should shroud him well."( Sahih Muslim) Shrouding 'well' means that it should be clean, thick, cover the entire body and be of a reasonable quality. It does not mean that it should be expensive or of the finest material. It is not necessary that it should be new; but if it has been used, it should have been washed thoroughly.

Hazrat Abu Bakr(RAA) when asked about his choice of shroud., preferred a used cloth saying: "A living person has more right to wear new clothes than a dead one' (Sahih Bukhari)

The Components of a shroud:

Shroud for a male:

The shroud for a male consists of 3 pieces of cloth; the waistcloth, a sheet in the shape of a shirt and the enveloping sheet.

Hazrat 'Aisha(RAA) relates: "Allah's Apostle (SAW) was shrouded in three Yemenite white Suhuliya (lightly striped pieces of cloth) of cotton and in them was neither a shirt nor a turban " ( Sahih Bukhari) (For shrouding males, the instruction is only for these three pieces mentioned)

If possible a lightly striped sheet should be included in the shroud, so that even for the garments of the last journey one will get the reward of following the Sunnah (the tradition of the Prophet.)

According to a hadith the Prophet (SAW) said:

{{ When one of you dies, include a striped sheet in the shroud if it is available."(Sunan Abu Dawood)}}

Shroud for a female:

For a female shroud, five pieces are required i.e two more than for a male shroud. The fourth is the scarf for the head and the fifth is the waist wrapper which will be wrapped (not worn) around the woman's satr (chest to thighs), under the shirt. A separate chest and waist wrapper can also be used instead.

Layla Bint Qa'if relates: "I was one of those who washed Umm Kulthum, daughter of the Prophet (SAW) when she died. The Apostle of Allah (SAW) first gave us the lower garment, then the shirt, then the heads-wear, then the cloak (which covers the body) and then she was shrouded in another garment."(Ahmad & Abu Dawood)

Therefore, 3 pieces for a male and 5 for a female are part of the sunnah. However if due to extenuating circumstances, this number is not available, then a lesser number of pieces, up to at least one cloth will suffice.

More dead bodies than material:

In an emergency e.g during war or a journey, due to insufficient material being available, several dead bodies can be shrouded in one cloth and buried, as was done with the bodies of the martyrs of the battle of Uhud. Similarly, if sufficient material is not available, but only enough to cover either the head or the feet, then the head is to be covered and the feet can be covered with shrubs or grass, as was the case in the shrouding of Hazrat Mu'saib bin Umair(RAA). (Reference Sahih Bukhari).

Before being wrapped and enveloped in the shroud, the dead body must be dried with a clean towel.

Perfume:

The body should be scented by exposing it to the smoke produced by burning incense. The Prophet (SAW) said that this should be done thrice. (Reference Musnad Ahmed).

If this is not possible, then prior to wrapping the body in the shroud, perfume etc. can be applied directly to it.

Instructions for a Pilgrim:

The instruction for perfuming do not apply to the dead body of a pilgrim who is in Ihram (Hajj attire) and passes away during the performance of Haj and Umrah, as is proved from the following hadith: "When a man was at Arafat (for Hajj) with Allah's Apostle (SAW), he fell down from his mount and broke his neck (and died). So Allah's Apostle (SAW) said: "Wash him with water and Sidr (lotus leaves) and shroud him in two pieces of cloth and neither perfume him nor cover his head, for Allah will resurrect him on the Day of Resurrection and he will be saying 'Labbaik\l respond to your call, I am obedient to your orders.)" (Sahih Bukhari)

Bathing for those who washed the body:

It is preferable that those who washed and shrouded the dead body should have a bath after they have finished^fe.is not compulsory.ils the Prophet (SAW) said:

"He who washes the dead should take a bath and he who carries him should perform ablution." (Sunan Abu Dawood) {{Hazrat Abdullah Bin Umar (RAA) said:

"We used to bathe the dead body and some of us used to have a bath and some didn't."(Sunan Addaar Qatani)}}/[[ Hazrat Asma bint Umay's(RAA) washed Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (RAA) when he died. Then she went out and asked some of the Muhajireen (immigrants) who were there: "I am fasting and this is an extremely cold day.

Do I have to do ghusH (bath)" They said: "No."(Al-Muwatta) ]]

Wisdom:

Due to the washing of the dead body, any splashes of impurities or the germs of the disease from which the deceased died, may have been transferred to the body of the person washing the body and by having a bath, he will be cleansed of these. In the case of death from a contagious disease, the wisdom of ablution for those who have helped in lifting the dead body, and transferred it to and from the washing plank , is obvious from the aforementioned hadiths.

Clarification: A believer does not become unclean or impure after his death; however due to the agonies of death, sweat, urine and other body discharges necessitate washing and cleansing the body of these.

Components of the Shroud:

Three strips of cloth:

They should be five inches in width and long enough to be tied around the dead body and knotted at the ends.

Big Sheet:

This will be the last sheet to be wrapped around the body and it should be wide enough for the ends to overlap. Lengthwise, it should cover the body from head to toe, with ample cloth at both ends to be gathered and tied with the strips.

Shirt:

The length of this will extend from the shoulder to the knees and as it is not stitched, in order to cover both the front and back, twice the length will have to measured before cutting it. The cloth will have to be folded and a slit made at the fold to enable the head to pass through it.

Waistcloth:

The width will be the same as the other pieces of cloth that are being wrapped around the body; the length will be from the navel to the ankles.

Chest Wrapper:

For a female shroud, this is the fourth piece of cloth used. Its width will be similar to the other pieces, but the length will be from the armpits till the end of the rib-cage.(The other alternative is that the waistcloth should be long enough to cover the chest The Prophet (SAW) had given his waistcloth and had asked for it to be used as an inside wrapper for his daughter. No mention was made of the legs.)

Scarf:

This is the fifth piece, which is cut in the shape of a square. After folding it diagonally in the shape of a triangle, it will be tied on the head in such a way that the full forehead and ears are covered and the two comers will be tied to the third comer of the scarf at the base of the neck, thus covering the head completely.

Note: These days, ready made shrouds and stitched pouches/gloves to be used for washing the body are available in the shops.

A Few precautions:

# Everything must be wrapped very well and the material must be wound all the way around to the back, so that it does not open up at the time of burial

# At the time of wrapping the different pieces constituting the shroud, the right side must overlap the left.

# A sheet held firmly from all four sides, must be used to transfer the body from the bed to the washing plank and from the plank to the bier on which the different pieces constituting the shroud have been laid out.

# The way of removing this sheet used for lifting the body is to first turn the body on one side, fold the sheet under the body as much as possible, then turn the body the other way and remove the sheet slowly from under it.

# After the washing, the removal of the wet covering sheet and towelling the body must be done whilst holding a dry sheet over the body so that it stays concealed.

# After drying it and before lifting the body on to the bier, the sheet used for lifting it will be put under the body in a manner similar to its earlier removal.

INBOX

The Prophet (SAW) said:

"There are two things which the son of Adam dislikes. He dislikes death, but death is better for the believer than temptation; and he dislikes few possessions, but few possessions involve less reckoning"(Tirmizi)

The Method of Wrapping the Shroud:

1. The strips of cloth should be                    2. The last sheet to be wrapped
laid first ,before laying out the                        around the body should be
shroud.                                                               laid out next.

3. Over this, the backside of the shirt                 4. The waist cloth should be laid
should be laid out in this manner                      out over the base of the shirt.  

5. For a female, the extra chest wrapper
should be laid out loosely

6. All the clothes must be wrapped
around the body in the specified
order and then the three strips that
were underneath, must be tied.