Chapter Eight

Victory News Magazine

Preparing For Eternal Life

The Kafan

The Kafan is highly valued and a person is considered to be mindful of death if he / she has prepared it prior to their death, which is commendable. The cloth has to be of the finest quality and no expense spared, for on the Day of Resurrection, the deceased will be proud of the Kafan that they wear. [Lari, Sayyid Mutjtaba Musavi (1992).] The money used to purchase the Kafan must be, with no doubt, lawful money and is not to be used at the time of pilgrimage or in daily prayers. The Kafan needs to be made from white cotton cloth and the thread used needs to have the yarn taken out from it. It also should be Pak ( free from impurities) There needs to be sufficient quantities of cotton placed on the orifices so urine and faeces so not to stain the cloth.  

Khak-e-Shifa

It is optional that a little Khak-e-Shifa (dust from the grave of Imam Hussain ('a) and camphor is placed within the Kafan. The name of the deceased and the father and the Mothers name as well is mentioned here of the deceased and the triple testimony of the Unity of Allah, the Prophethood of Muhammad ('s) and of the Imamat ( and the vicegerency) of the Twelve Imams ('a) are written on all the wajib and Mustahab pieces of the Kafan in the following way:  

Yashhadu/Tashhadu (for female) an laa ilaaha illaallahoo wah’dahoo laashareeka lahoo wa anna Muh’ammadan a’bduhoo wa rasooluhoo wa anna a’liyyan walh’asana walh’usayna wa a’liyyan wa Muh’ammasan wa a’liyyan wal-h’asana walh’ujjatul qaa-ima a;layhimus salam awliyaaa-ulaahu wa aws’iyaa-u Rasoolillaahi wa a-Immatee wa annal Baa’-tha wath thawaaba wal-I’qaaba h’aqq.


 (So and so son/daughter of so and so bears witness that there is no Allah but Allah He is the only Allah and has no partner and that Muhammad ('s) is the servant and the Prophet of Allah (swt) and that Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib ('a) and Hassan ibn Ali ('a) and Hussain ibn Ali ('a) and Ali ibn Al-Hussain ('a) and Muhammad al Baqir ('a) and Jafar as Sadiq ('a) and Moussa al Qazim ('a) and Ali ibn Moussa ('a) and Muhammad ('s) and Ali ('a) and Hassan ('a) and Hujjatul ul Qaim ('a) are the Guides of Allah and the executers of the Prophets of the Prophet’s will and my Imams ('a) and that resurrection and the reward and punishment are true. [Sayyid, Hadi Husayn (1988).]

It is also optional for the names of forty Momins (true believers) and their fathers to be written on a piece of cloth, after getting permission from them, which along with the testimony of the deceased’s religious belief, act as witnesses to the fact that the deceased is a true believer. The Momins need to see the name of the deceased, who is the daughter / son of so and so is written on the cloth also.

NB: [There is a sheet manufactured in Yemen which is available for the use of Kafans and the ready made Kafans with the Holy names already printed on the cloth is available from Iran and Iraq]

Wajib Three Pieces of Cloth for Kafan

Whether the deceased is a male of a female, the following pieces of Kafan are Wajib.

  1. Lung (loin cloth) which should be large enough to cover from the loins to the knees but preferably from the breasts to the feet.

  2. Pairahan (Kafani), should be long enough to cover the body from the shoulders to the ankles but preferably down to the feet.

  3. Chaadar / Sar-ta-siri / Pot Ki Chaadar (shroud / sheet), should be wide enough to cover the body all round and long enough to be fastened above the head and below the feet.

Mustahab Pieces of Cloth for Kafan / Mustahabaat - e - Kafan

For the Male person deceased:

  1. Raan Paich which should be one or two spans in width and 1¾ yards in length

  2. Ammama (turban) about nine inches wide and three yards long so that after at least one roll round the head the ends may be stretches on to the breast.

For the Female person deceased:

  1. Raan Paich

  2. Orhni (a big scarf)

  3. Seena Band (a bodice) which should be wide enough to cover the breasts and long enough to tie in a knot at the back

  4.  Extra Chaadar (sheet)

  5.  Qasaaba (triangular kerchief) fastened round the head

Therefore there are altogether five pieces of cloth for the deceased male and eight pieces of cloth for the deceased female. [Sayyid, Hadi Husayn (1988).]

As in bathing a deceased person, it is wajib that the person dressing the deceased in the Kafan, must get the permission of the heir of the deceased.  

 

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