Islamic Fiqh > Funerals > Washing the deceased
Who washes the deceased, how to wash, the number of washes, sidr and camphor, the martyr and the child.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
Washing the deceased Muslim is a collective obligation: once some take it on, it falls from all. The encyclopedia details its manner, its cases and its divergences.
The necessary is what purifies; the recommended is the odd number: three washings, five, or more as needed, with s idr in the water then camphor in the last, based on Umm Atiyya's hadith: « wash her three, five or seven times, or more if you judge so, with water and s idr, and put camphor in the last » (al-Bukhari 1253 ; Muslim 939). On the s idr's place, Abu Hanifa and Ahmad put it in all the waters, Malik and al-Shafi'i in the first only. Impurities are removed first, then the body is washed as for prayer (the Hanafis avoid introducing water into mouth and nose), and the belly is gently pressed at the start, following Ibn Umar's practice. Cold water is preferred by Shafi'is and Hanbalis, Malik leaving the choice.
Shafi'is and Hanbalis (in one transmission) prefer washing in a shirt, more discreet, based on the hadith of the Prophet washed in a shirt; Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis (in the other transmission) prefer the body covered but undressed, the washing being more thorough and the shirt liable to be soiled. Aisha reports the Prophet's wives' doubt on this question, and Sa'd asked: « do with me what was done with the Messenger of Allah » (reported by Abu Dawud).
If I could recall what I concealed, the Messenger of Allah would have been washed only by his wives.Abu Dawud 3141 ; Ibn Majah 1464
The wife washes her husband and the man his wife, by consensus recorded by Ibn al-Mundhir; Abu Bakr recommended that Asma wash him. A man may wash his mahram female relatives according to Malik and al-Shafi'i, the hand covered with a thick cloth; Abu Hanifa and Ahmad exclude it. When no permitted person is available, tayammum is performed for the deceased (the soundest view among the jumhur). The non-Muslim is not washed, by unanimity; if a relative, Malikis and Hanbalis allow neither washing nor burial among Muslims. The one whose religion is unknown is treated by his signs: found in the land of Islam with the Muslims' marks, he is washed, prayed over and buried among them.
The four schools admit incense perfuming during the washing to remove odor; the woman's hair is braided in three braids cast behind her head (al-Bukhari 1201), except among the Hanafis who leave it loose; hair is not roughly combed according to the majority, al-Shafi'i admitting light combing with a wide-toothed comb.
The majority of jurists allow taking pay for washing, shrouding, carrying and burying, while deeming it disliked; doing it freely is better. If the task becomes obligatory for him alone, he takes nothing among Hanafis and Malikis; one Hanbali statement forbids the wage of washing absolutely.
The essential fits in three words: complete purification, modesty, dignity. The rest belongs to school detail.