 Chapter
Four
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When a Person Becomes Deceased
And Allah says in the Quoran:
"Every soul must taste of Death"
[21;35, 29;57]
When the
person has become deceased, the following 8 steps must be done:
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Shut the mouth and the eyes of the corpse and cover the face of the corpse.
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Fasten the two jaws with a strip so tightly so that the mouth does not open.
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Straighten both legs.
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Cover the corpse with a sheet or cloth.
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Provide light where the corpse is kept if the person has died at night.
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Announce the death with the view to enable the faithful to attend the funeral.
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Avoid undue delay in bathing and shrouding the corpse with the Kafan.
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If death takes place at night, the funeral ceremonies should not be postponed for the day and vice versa. If there is any doubt about the death taking place, they should wait till they are certain about it. [Qummi, Shaikh Abbas (1999), pg 119]
Washing the Body of the Deceased
It is wajib (obligatory) on every believing Muslim, (male or female depending on the sex of the deceased), to administer the bathing of the deceased Muslim , to provide Kafan if not already provided, shroud the deceased and offer prayers at the burial of the deceased. If one, or several people, perform these tasks, all others are exempt from doing so. [Sayyid, Hadi Husayn (1988), pg.111]
It is more than likely that if you are required to perform the very blessed task of bathing the body of a deceased person, it will be a person that is a relative or friend, unless this duty is part of your profession or you are in a crisis situation.
It is very important that the bathing
is done with a very gentle touch and recommended dua'as are recited.
It is
wajib that the person who is going to administer the baths gets
permission from the Heir of the deceased person before administering
the baths if the administrator is not the Heir themselves.
According
to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ('a), a Momin who bathes the body of
another deceased Momin, recites the following dua'a:
“Allaahumma inna haad’aa ba’danu a’bdikal moo’mini wa qad akhrajta rooh’ahoo minhoo wa farraqta baynahumma fa-a’fwaka a’fwaka.”
[O Allah this is the body of Your Momin whose spirit You have taken from it and have thus separated the two – So Your forgiveness is sought, Your forgiveness is sought.] [Qummi, Shaikh Abbas (1999), pg 123]
The person administering the bath should remain busy in prayers to Allah and in imploring (requesting) for His forgiveness and repeatedly reciting;
“A’fwaka A’fwaka”
[Thy Pardon, Thy Pardon] [Sayyid, Hadi Husayn, (1988), pg 128]
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