The ruling on covering the deceased, whether male or female.
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The questioner : My Shaykh, I was in the mosque today and a funeral was placed there. It was a body in a coffin, arranged and painted, a foreigner. I saw it; it was sent from America, a man sent in it. Now my son, may Allah protect him, is holding it and feeling it because it is light.
The Shaykh : And smooth.
The questioner : Smooth. He says to me, "Dad, what is this in the mosque?" I said to him, "There is a dead person in it!" So a question came to my mind from this door, certainly, in what we have learned from you, may Allah reward you with good. We do not imitate the disbelievers, and this is imitating the disbelievers. But regarding the matter of placing the deceased according to the Sunnah: do we leave him in his clothes, meaning the ones he was wearing, and wrap him in the three usual white shrouds and leave him as he is on the outside, or do we cover him with an ihram cloth or a sheet or something as some people do?
The Shaykh : Covering is a recommended practice (sunnah) for women, not for men.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Covering, because here the woman’s body is concealed, meaning the Shari'ah is concerned with keeping her appearance hidden, unlike the man. We know this, and it is even reported from the Lady Fatimah that when she felt her end approaching, she instructed that something like a canopy be placed over her bier.
The questioner : Yes, the one they use in Makkah.
The Shaykh : Indeed, this is one of the inherited matters, as our brother thought earlier regarding other things. Yes, the Shari'ah paid attention to this, and the instruction of the Lady Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) is for women. As for men, we do not know of this practice. I think it exists here, as it exists in Syria and Albania, where they place wood on the bier that carries the deceased, called "jabalun." They say, "We have it," you say, "jabalun." Yes, I do not see a justification for this unless we assume that the shroud will be exposed, in which case it can be said, as a precaution, that this thing is placed. But for women, it is necessary.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. We disapprove of people covering the man, and we approve of covering the woman, and it is a recommended practice (sunnah). We also say: do not put men in this shroud that is like a coffin, like the coffins of the Christians in their lands.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And smooth.
The questioner : Smooth. He says to me, "Dad, what is this in the mosque?" I said to him, "There is a dead person in it!" So a question came to my mind from this door, certainly, in what we have learned from you, may Allah reward you with good. We do not imitate the disbelievers, and this is imitating the disbelievers. But regarding the matter of placing the deceased according to the Sunnah: do we leave him in his clothes, meaning the ones he was wearing, and wrap him in the three usual white shrouds and leave him as he is on the outside, or do we cover him with an ihram cloth or a sheet or something as some people do?
The Shaykh : Covering is a recommended practice (sunnah) for women, not for men.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Covering, because here the woman’s body is concealed, meaning the Shari'ah is concerned with keeping her appearance hidden, unlike the man. We know this, and it is even reported from the Lady Fatimah that when she felt her end approaching, she instructed that something like a canopy be placed over her bier.
The questioner : Yes, the one they use in Makkah.
The Shaykh : Indeed, this is one of the inherited matters, as our brother thought earlier regarding other things. Yes, the Shari'ah paid attention to this, and the instruction of the Lady Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) is for women. As for men, we do not know of this practice. I think it exists here, as it exists in Syria and Albania, where they place wood on the bier that carries the deceased, called "jabalun." They say, "We have it," you say, "jabalun." Yes, I do not see a justification for this unless we assume that the shroud will be exposed, in which case it can be said, as a precaution, that this thing is placed. But for women, it is necessary.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. We disapprove of people covering the man, and we approve of covering the woman, and it is a recommended practice (sunnah). We also say: do not put men in this shroud that is like a coffin, like the coffins of the Christians in their lands.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.