How is a deceased Muslim washed?

Who should wash the body

The Sunnah is that the most knowledgeable of the washing procedure does it — a trustworthy person who will not speak of anything unpleasant seen on the body. The washer earns a great reward if he seeks Allah's face and conceals what he saw.

The order of priority, when there is competition for the right:

• For a man: his executor (wasiyy), then his father, then his grandfather, then the nearest male relative on the father's side, then the nearest of kin.
• For a woman: her executor, then her mother, then her grandmother, then the nearest female relative.
• Between spouses: either may wash the other. Ali رضي الله عنه washed his wife Fatimah, and Asma bint Umays washed her husband Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه.
• Children under seven: a man or a woman may wash them, since there is no 'awrah to observe.
• A man who dies among unrelated women, or a woman among unrelated men: the body is not washed but given tayammum (wiped with clean earth, the hand covered), then shrouded, and the funeral prayer is offered.

The steps, in order

Before the washing

1. Cover the private parts. The 'awrah of a man is from the navel to the knee, and the same for a woman with a woman. This is obligatory, and the washer must not look at or directly touch the 'awrah.
2. Remove the clothing and place the body on a washing table or raised surface, facing the qiblah.
3. Raise the head slightly toward a sitting position, and press the stomach gently to expel anything prepared to come out, pouring plenty of water at that moment so nothing is seen.
4. Clean the private parts using a cloth wrapped around the hand — not the bare hand.

The ablution and the washing

5. Give the body the ablution of prayer (wudu'): wipe the mouth and nose without letting water enter, wash the face, then the arms, wipe the head with the ears, then wash the feet. The Prophet ﷺ told the women washing his daughter:

"Begin with her right side and the places of ablution."— Sahih al-Bukhari, from Umm 'Atiyyah

6. Wash the head and beard with water and sidr foam, or soap if sidr is unavailable.
7. Wash the right side, from the neck down to the foot, then turn the body and wash the left side, then the back in the same way, so the water reaches the whole body.
8. Repeat the washing three times, or five, or seven — always an odd number — until the body is clean. If three are not enough because of dirt, increase to five, then seven.

The final wash and after

9. Add camphor to the last wash. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Put camphor in the last washing, or something of camphor."— Sahih al-Bukhari 1259 and Sahih Muslim 939, from Umm 'Atiyyah

Camphor perfumes the body, firms it, and repels insects.

10. Dry the body with a cloth, then shroud it — three white sheets for a man, and for a woman a shirt, waist-wrapper, head-cover and two sheets.

If something exits the body after the washing, the place is washed and the ablution repeated; if it exits after shrouding, the washing is not repeated.

What is obligatory and what is recommended

Points people get wrong

• Stuffing the body with cotton as a fixed practice for every deceased person is a departure from the Sunnah. It is permitted only when there is a need — for example, fear that fluid will soil the shroud.
• The washer does not pronounce an intention aloud. Shaykh al-Albani noted that saying "I intend to wash the deceased" is idle speech; the intention belongs in the heart, as with all acts of worship.
• The washer's own bath after washing the deceased is recommended, not obligatory. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever washes the deceased, let him bathe" (Sunan Abi Dawud 3161), which the scholars took as a recommendation; in the Hanbali school, washing the deceased does break the washer's ablution.
• The body is not washed if washing would harm it — a burn victim, or one with severe wounds — nor if water is unavailable. It is given tayammum instead, shrouded, and the prayer is offered.

Key takeaways

• Washing the deceased Muslim is a communal obligation; once some Muslims perform it correctly, the rest are free of the duty.
• The washing follows the order of ablution first, then the right side, then the left, an odd number of times, with sidr and camphor.
• The 'awrah must be covered throughout, and the washer must not look at or directly touch it.
• Either spouse may wash the other; a child under seven may be washed by a man or a woman.
• If washing would harm the body or water is unavailable, the body is given tayammum instead, shrouded, and the funeral prayer is still offered.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, "Mas'alat Kayfiyyat Ghusl al-Mayyit"
• al-Bahuti, Kashshaf al-Qina', Kitab al-Jana'iz
• al-Albani, Talkhis Ahkam al-Jana'iz, "Ghusl al-Mayyit"

And Allah knows best.