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The correct method of applying the shroud for a deceased.

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Fatwa-TT.com
Question:

The correct method of
applying the shroud (kafn) for a deceased, male and female. 

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Shrouding the deceased

The shrouds may be any of
any type or colour usually worn by the deceased but preferably of nice quality
and white cotton. The shroud of both, men and women, should be perfumed with incense
an odd number of times before the deceased is wrapped in them. It is preferable
to burn incense at three times: when the soul is leaving the body, at the time
of bathing the deceased, and when the deceased is shrouded.

The hair and the beard of
the deceased should not be combed or braided and the nails should not be cut.

It is Sunnah that a
man is shrouded in three clothes:

Izar – a loin cloth extending from the head to the feet
like the Lifafah

Qamis – an upper garment extending from the shoulders to
the feet

Lifafah – (chador) a complete wrapper extending from the
head to the feet

It is also permissible to
restrict the man`s shroud to only the Izar and Lifafah.

The deceased male should be
put in the shrouds. Firstly, the Lifafah should be spread out and thereafter
the Izar should be unfolded on top of it. The deceased should be wrapped in a
Qamis without sleeves and put onto the Izar to be folded into it first from his
left and then from his right and then similarly into the Lifafah.

The additional wrapper
should be wrapped around the deceased beginning with the left side, putting the
shroud over him, then the right side. The shroud may be fastened with a knot.

It is Sunnah that a
woman should be shrouded in five cloths:

Izar

Qamis

Khimar – a scarf which
should be on top of the Qamis under the Lifafah

A cloth with which her bosom
is tied

Lifafah

It is also permissible to
restrict the woman`s shroud to only Izar, Khimar and Lifafah.

The deceased female should
be put in the shrouds. Firstly, the Lifafah should be spread out, then the
cloth to place on the bosom, then the Izar on top of it. The deceased should be
wrapped in a Qamis and put onto the Izar to be folded into it, then the cloth
and then into the Lifafah.

The two hair plaits of a
woman should be placed on her chest on top of the Qamīs. Then the woman should
be made to cover the head and face wear the Khimar below the Lifafah and on top
of the Qamis. Then she should be wrapped in an Izar. The piece of cloth should
then be fastened on top of that behind the chest on the bossom and then the
Lifafah should be fastened.

The child close to maturity
will be shrouded with the same clothes as an adult. If the achild is younger,
it is better to enshroud him also with the full kafn, although it is permissible
to enshroud the young boy in a single cloth and the young girl in two
clothes. 

Once the deceased has been
wrapped in the shrouds, it is compulsory upon the people to pray over the
deceased.[1]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Arshad Ali

Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)

www.fatwa-tt.com


[1] See http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/29773

This answer was collected from Fatwa-tt.com, which is operated by the Darul Iftaa of Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad and Tobago) under the advice and guidance of Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Daamat Barakaatuhum) of South Africa.

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