Is it obligatory for the one who washes a deceased to perform a purificatory bath himself?

No, this is not required. This is the position of our school, and Imam al-Khattabi said, “I don’t know of anyone who held that it is obligatory for the one who washes the deceased to himself take a purificatory bath.” It is, however, recommended for such a person to perform a purificatory bath.

As for the hadith, “Whoever washes a dead body must himself take a purificatory bath,” the correct understanding of it—as stated by the hadith master al-Bayhaqi—is that it is a statement of Abu Hurayrah (Allah be pleased with him), not a statement of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Tirmidhi relates from Bukhari that Ahmad b. Hanbal and `Ali b. al-Madini both said that nothing rigorously authenticated from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has been narrated on the subject. Scholars have said that were this hadith to be authentic [h: which it isn’t], it would be understood as establishing a recommendation, not an obligation. For further detail, you may refer to the Majmu` of Imam Nawawi at the end of the chapter of the funeral prayer.

السؤال: هل يجب على مَن غسَّل ميتاً أن يغتسل؟

الجواب: لا يجب على مَن غسَّل ميتاً أن يغتسل هذا مذهبنا، بل قال الإمام الخطابي الله:” لا أعلم أحداً أوجب الغسل من غسل الميت “. اهـ نعم يسنُّ له ذلك في المعتمد عندنا، وأما حديثُ:” مَن غَسَّلَ ميتاً فليغتسل “. فالصحيحُ كما قال الإمام الحافظ البيهقي: أنه موقوف على أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه وليس مرفوعاً إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم. وقال الترمذي عن البخاري قال: إن أحمد بن حنبل وعلي بن المديني قالا: لا يصح في الباب شيء. وقد قال العلماء: لو صحَّ هذا الحديث لكان محمولاً على الاستحباب فقط، والله أعلم. وانظر في ذلك كله: “المجموع” للإمام النووي أواخر باب غسل الميت من كتاب الجنائز