Kafan and Ghusl - Muslim Community Resource Center – Seattle

Kafan and Ghusl
Preparing the body for burial is a
FARD Kifayaah- a communal
obligation for muslims
Who should and can give ghusl?
• Family, relative or close friends
• Those who know the masnoon method of
ghusl
• Somebody who is pious and can be trusted
(who will not comment if he would see
anything in the deceased)
Special cases
• If the deceased is a child, then washing maybe
done by male or female.
• If the deceased was married, then the spouse
can wash the body
• If a new muslims dies, and has no muslim
relatives, then it is the duty of other muslims
to give him ghusl and kafan
Things needed for ghusl
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Camphor or non alcoholic perfumes
Warm water (preferred)
Soap/shampoo
Gloves
Wash cloths
Napkins/tissue
Cotton balls
Garbage can
Clean towels
Comb
Multiple sheets (some dark colored ones better for
covering the body when sheets get wet)
Place for Ghusl
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It should be clean
Floor should be smooth and stable (no sudden steps…easy
for water to flow)
Drainage should be checked (no water blockage)
Completely covered
It should be spacious enough so that the dead body,
washers and materials needed for ghusl are not too
cramped
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If the bathroom in the house is not big enough, then a room
can be used for the purpose or a tented (completely covered)
deck/lawn.
The washing board should be elevated from the head side
Process of Ghusl
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Lay the body covered properly throughout
Cut the clothes if cannot be removed easily
Make sure the Awra is covered AT ALL TIMES.
Get the body waste out by slightly pressing the abdomen and tilting
the body (if possible)
First clean the pvt parts without looking (the body should still be
covered with one or more sheets or dark colored sheet)
Washer should change the gloves now
Now start with wudu
No water in nose or mouth (these should be gently cleaned with
wet cotton or wash cloth)
Now cover the nose, mouth, ears with cotton (so no water goes in
there)
Shampoo the hair and beard
Now wash the body (right front, right back, left front, left back)
ending ghusl…
• Repeat the ghusl 3, 5, 7 or more times (in odd
numbers)
• If possible, add camphor/kafoor in the last rinse
• The hair (and beard) should be brushed
• Women’s hair to be braided in 3 parts
• Nails not to be cut
• Hair not to be removed from any part
• After ghusl, wipe the body with towels.
Incase of bleeding
• If deceased is a female having periods or child
birth bleeding, then padding should be used
to prevent blood from leaving body.
Special cases…
• Incase the death has occurred due to accident
or burning and ghusl is not possible, then
TAYAMMUM is ok.
• If the death has occurred in Ihram, then NO
perfume should be applied
• If death has occurred in battlefield, no ghusl
required
People who wash the body should:
• Make wudu before starting the ghusl for
deceased
• Must not indulge in unnecessary talk
• Take a shower after the ghusl is done (this is
not a requirement…it’s a recommendation
only for hygiene)
• There is NO specific dua or zikr to be recited
during this time.
Kafan- number of sheets
recommended
• For men, 3 pieces of sheets are preferred
– One as a Shirt
– Second wrapped from navel to knees
– Overall cover
• For women, 5 pieces are preferred
– The above three
– One extra for covering the chest
– One piece to be used as a scarf
In all cases, 4 strips of seamless cloth needed to tie the kafan
– from above the head
– below the feet
– Around the body (waist)
– And a rather wide piece to be placed under the waist for lifting the body
Other preferences for Kafan (shroud)
• White color was preferred by Prophet (sm)
• Does not have to be new (used is ok but it should
be clean and washed)
• Does not have to be fancy, expensive material
(muslims are actually discouraged to be
extravagant in kafan)
• Should be perfumed (except if the deceased was
in Ihram)
• Clothing of martyr not to be removed…the outer
sheet to be wrapped on clothes
If you do not have kafan kit
• You can buy king size bed sheets from shops
and cut the stitched seams
– All the other pieces are simply cut into rectangular
pieces except the shirt, in which a cut is made
near the neck area
Shirt or Qamees in kafan
Fold the cloth from middle and make a
slit as shown.
Scarf for female kafan
Take a square piece of cloth and fold it
to make it triangular
Steps for laying the kafan
Step 1
First place the 3
ties and a wide
piece in the
middle
Step 2
Then place the
biggest sheet
(lafafa) which
will be the
outermost cover
Step 3
Now place the
shirt as shown
(let the back half
on the board
and the other
half falling out
for now)
Step 4
Now place the
sheet which will
cover the body
from Navel to
knee
Step 5
Now place the
sheet which will
cover the upper
body (this extra
sheet is for
female kafan
only)
Step 6
This is what the
completely
shrouded body
will look like
(do not tie knots
which will be
difficult to open
while placing the
body in grave)