What is the ruling on buying a shroud and keeping it in the house to remind oneself of death?

Question:
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, this questioner says: What is your view on a person buying a shroud and keeping it in his house to remind himself of death? Is there any harm in it?

Answer:
This is something the Salaf did not do, as far as we know. Only some of the ascetics and some of the worshippers do it, but there is no evidence for it in the Shari'ah. Remembering death does not require a shroud. Death is not something hidden. You see death every day; you see funerals, and you hear about the death of so-and-so. You do not need a shroud to remember death. There is not a day that passes without you seeing funerals and hearing about funerals and hearing about someone’s death, so there is no need for a shroud.