It is makrouh for a person who is in a state of either...

It is makrouh for a person who is in a state of either janabah or haydh to be present while a person is dying, or to touch their body at the point of their giving up the soul. * And if he dies?

●It is mustahab to close their eyes, shut their mouth, stretch their arms beside their body, straighten their legs, cover them, recite verses from the Holy Qur’an, light the place where they used to dwell, and inform the faithful to attend their funeral; it is also mustahab to prepare the body for burial quickly, unless you suspect the person is not really dead. * What if you are not sure the person is dead? - You may delay burial preparations until you have made sure that they were dead.

Then, it will become obligatory that you wash the body and take other necessary steps. * What about foetal miscarriage or abortion? - Even the foetus, of four months [or even less than that, but well proportioned in creation] should be accorded the same treatment. Prayer for its soul, however, is not obligatory and not mustahab. * Who takes the responsibility of washing the body of a dead person? - A male can wash a body of a male.

Likewise, A female can wash a body of a female, except in the case of husband and wife. They can wash one another’s body. The same goes for a discerning youngster, male or female; they can wash each other’s body. The same ruling applies to a mahram (One’s immediate relatives - according to a certain classification detailed in Shari’a law), who can wash the body of his mahram from the opposite sex [if a mahram from the same sex was not available]. * How is the corpse washed?

●Three types of ghusl should be carried out. 1. Once using lotus leaves (sidr) added to water. 2. The second ghusl using water with camphor added to it. 3. The third ghusl using pure water. [Provided ghusl be sequential], i.e. washing the head and neck first, then the right part of the body, then the left part.

Furthermore, the water used should be tahir, not najis, ownerless (mubah), not maghsoub (usurped), free from impurities (mutlaq), not mixed; the lotus leaves and camphor should also be ownerless. * Do you have to remove the clothes of the dead person while washing? - It can be washed with the clothes on; it might even be better. * How can you guarantee the purity of the water when you add lotus and camphor to it?

●Care must be taken to add the quantity that would not turn it into a mixed type of water, i.e. without losing its properties as water free from impurities.

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