Bath with Plum-Tree Water (Bath with Aab-I-Sidr) The...

Bath with Plum-Tree Water (Bath with Aab-I-Sidr) The quantity of water should be six mashks (water-skins) i) Niyyat: "for the pleasure of God as the ultimate end in view I administer bath to this corpse with "plum-tree leaves" ii) Start by pouring plumtree leaf water over the head and neck of the deceased, being careful not to get the water in the nose or ears. The head and neck should be washed three times.

iii) With the hand being in contact with the deceased body at all times to ensure the water reaches all parts of the body, turn the body onto it's left hand side to wash the right hand side three times, right down to the feet. iv) The deceased should then be laid on his/her right hand side and the left hand side of the body should be washed thrice. v) The deceased then is placed on their back. N.B. If the body is damaged, please be careful not to dismember limbs.

Bath with Camphorised Water (Bath with Aab-I-Kaafoor) The stomach of the deceased should be pressed once again, in a downwards motion, to remove any excreta that still may be remaining in the body. The area needs to be washed and the administrator needs to wuzu their own hands up to the elbows once again.

After this he/she needs to recite their Niyyat: "For the pleasure of God as the ultimate end in view I administer bath to this corpse with "camphorised water" The bath then is performed in the same manner as the first bath. Bath with Pure water (Bath with Aab-I-Khalis) It is Mustahab (commendable) that the person administering the bath should again wudu both his/her hands up to the elbows.

Both the water pourer and the administrator should then recite Niyyat once again: "For the pleasure of God as the ultimate end in view I administer bath to this corpse with "pure water" The bath then should be performed in the same manner, as bath numbers one and two. When completed the body must be wiped dry with a pac (free from contaminants) cloth and so much so that all the water is soaked up so the Kafan may not become wet.

Some cotton should be placed on the arms and the vulva of the deceased so that any impurity, which may come out, may not spoil the Kafan. If the hair or the nails of the deceased should become detached during the process of washing the body, these should also be placed within the Kafan. [Qummi, Shaikh Abbas (1999)] The administrator needs to Wuzu (ablution) his/her face and forearms after bathing the deceased.