The benefits of the hadith of Umm Atiyyah: She said, "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us while we were washing his daughter, and he said, 'Wash her three times, or five, or more than that if you see fit, with water and suds, and put in the last wash some camphor or a little camphor. When you are finished, let me know.' So when we were finished, we informed him, and he threw his cloak to us and said, 'Wrap her in it.'"

The Shaykh : "His cloak" is with the opening of the letter haa, and it may be with the kasrah. His statement: "Chapter on washing the deceased" means washing him. Washing the deceased is an obligatory act, a collective obligation, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the man who was gored by his camel while standing at 'Arafah: So washing him is a collective obligation. It is obligatory for whoever knows about it to wash him if no one else has washed him. Then, is the young child and the adult washed? The answer is yes, the young child and the adult are washed. However, the young child who has not reached seven years of age, and the adult, are washed by both men and women, whether this child is male or female. As for the one who has reached seven years of age, the woman is not washed except by a woman, and the man is washed by a man.
In this hadith, there is the permissibility of the father entering upon those who are washing his daughter, due to the entry of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) upon the women who had washed his daughter. Is every mahram (close relative) to be measured by this? The apparent view is yes, but he does not enter except for a need. Even a non-mahram does not enter upon those who are washing the deceased except for a need.
In this hadith, there is evidence that washing the deceased is for cleaning, and is not from the category of ritual purity for worship, because ritual purity for worship does not exceed three washes. Here he said, "Wash her three times, or five, or more than that." And in a narration by al-Bukhari: "Or seven, or more than that." This indicates that the intended meaning of washing the deceased is cleaning, so that he is presented to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in the most complete state of cleanliness.
Based on this, if water is absent or its use is not possible because the deceased is decomposed by fire or something similar, is tayammum (dry ablution) performed? If we say that the washing is for cleaning, then tayammum is not performed, because tayammum would only add soiling. And if we say that the washing is for purity, then tayammum is performed. Now, if part of the deceased is found, if the prayer has already been performed over his whole body, then the prayer is not performed over the part that is found, because the obligation has already been fulfilled. This is like a man, for example, who died in the desert, and the wild beasts tore him apart, and we found his whole body, so we washed him, shrouded him, and prayed over him. Then we found his leg, for example. The leg here is not prayed over, because it is not a person, but rather a part of a person over whom the prayer has been performed. If part of a living person is found, is it washed or prayed over? It is not prayed over. Why? Because it is a part of a living person. However, the leg is buried in any place, any location, except that burying it in the cemetery is safer for it and more respectful of it.
In this hadith, there is evidence that it is recommended to complete the washing of the deceased with an odd number, because he specified odd numbers: three, or five, or seven according to the narration of al-Bukhari. These are all odd numbers.
The choice of odd numbers in purification is a known matter. How many times is wudu' (ablution) performed? Three times. How many times is istinja' (cleaning oneself after relieving oneself) performed? Three times. Good.
Among the benefits of this hadith: The matter of washing the deceased is entrusted to the washer, based on his statement: . And on this basis, it is obligatory to choose for the washer someone who is trustworthy and knowledgeable. Trustworthy: meaning reliable. Knowledgeable: meaning with the rulings of washing. Because the one who is not trustworthy is not trusted with purification in any way, nor is he trusted not to spread the defects he finds in the deceased, whether they are physical defects or moral defects. Physical defects are like the deceased being afflicted with leprosy or something else, but it is hidden and not apparent. And this washer informs the people, saying, "Glory be to Allah, we did not know that so-and-so had leprosy!" He talks to the people. This is forbidden and not permissible, and it is contrary to trust. Or a moral change, such as seeing the face of the deceased changed, pale, or darkened. Then this indicates something bad. We ask Allah to make our ending and yours good. So it is not permissible to mention it to the people, because some people, when they die, their face becomes radiant, and you find it shining, better than when they were alive. And some people are the opposite, and I seek refuge in Allah. May Allah protect me and you from that.
The important thing is that he must be trustworthy, and he must be knowledgeable about how to wash, based on his statement: .
In it is also the recommendation of using suds in washing the deceased. It is recommended that suds be put in the water. This is by grinding the suds, O Sami, until it is close to flour, then it is put in the water, then it is mixed by hand until it becomes foamy. The foam is taken and the head and hair are washed with it. As for the residue, the rest of the body is washed with it. Because suds are cold, purifying, and cleaning. Is it fragrant? Respond, no. The evidence: The hadith of the one who was gored by his camel. He (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: .
Among the benefits of the hadith: The invalidity of dividing water into pure, purifying, and impure. The point is that when water is mixed with suds, it changes greatly. And if we say that it is pure but not purifying, there would be no benefit in using it. And by this, we know that dividing water into three categories is a weak opinion, as passed to us in the reading of Bulugh al-Maram.
Among the benefits of this hadith: It is recommended that camphor be put in the last wash, whether in the third if you see three, or the fifth, or the seventh, or the ninth. Camphor is put in the last wash. Camphor is a known type of fragrance. It is ground and then mixed with water. It has two benefits. The first benefit is the good smell, and the second benefit is stiffening the body, because it stiffens the body. For this reason, he said, "Put in the last wash some camphor or a little camphor." This is doubt from the narrator.
Good. And is the deceased perfumed with anything else? The scholars mentioned that he is perfumed with anything else, with hanut, by making a fragrance from multiple things from the fragrances, which is put in cotton, and placed on the mouth, the nostrils, the eyes, the anus, the armpits, the hollows of the knees, the elbows, and the places of prostration according to some scholars, and the last place according to some scholars. And some say no, because the places of prostration are not places for sweat and stench. For this reason, the poet said:
"So he did not provision from what he used to gather except hanut, the day of separation, in cloths"
Meaning, the person does not provision. If he gathered the whole world, what does he carry when he dies? The hanut, which is a mixture of fragrances, and the second is the cloths, which is the shroud. Good. So the washing is done with camphor, and the hanut is put in cotton, and placed on the places you heard.
Among the benefits of this hadith: It is recommended for the one who comes to the washer of the deceased for a need not to stay with the washer, because his statement: indicates that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not sit, because if he had sat, he would have known without being informed.
For this reason, the scholars said: It is disliked for one who is not assigned to the washing to be present for the washing, even if he is the closest person to him, except the person assisting the washer, which is another matter of need.
Among the benefits of this hadith: The clear and obvious indication that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not know the unseen, even in the closest thing to him. From what is it taken? From his statement: "When you are finished, let me know." If he had known the unseen, he would have known when they were finished, so there would be no need for permission. But he (peace and blessings be upon him) does not know the unseen. And it is strange that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded him with a specific command that he does not know the unseen. He said to him: . Then these extremists come who claim that they love Allah and His Messenger, and they claim that the Messenger knows the unseen. And they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, because Allah commanded him to declare: . Did the Messenger say it? Yes, he said it? Yes, he said it, and he conveyed it to the Ummah, and the Ummah followed it in their prayers and their seclusion, and they agreed on it, except for those whom Satan overcame in extremism, and they claimed that the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) knows the unseen.
So: Does the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) not know the unseen as a certain matter or a presumptive one? Certain. We have something clearer than the sun at midday.
Among the benefits of this hadith is the mercy of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for his children. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was compassionate and merciful to the believers, so how much more so to his children? From his daughters, his daughters' children, and his sons as well. When his son Ibrahim passed away, the eye of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to shed tears, and he grieved and said: "The eye sheds tears and the heart grieves, but we do not say anything except what pleases our Lord, and we are indeed grieved by your departure, O Ibrahim." This is what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. Similarly, here he was supervising the washing of his daughter. When they finished, he said: "Give us his waistband," meaning his lower garment. The lower garment is called a waistband because a person ties it around his waist. He gave them the garment and said: "Make it the inner layer for her," meaning: make it the part closest to the body. In this is evidence for seeking blessing in the physical traces of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), seeking blessing in his tangible remains. As for his intangible traces, by Allah, we certainly seek blessing in them. His intangible traces are his Sunnah and his guidance, and following his Sunnah and guidance is all blessing and good. As for his tangible traces, we have nothing of them today. In the time of the Messenger, they existed; people would seek blessing in his sweat, in the leftover water of his ablution, and in his saliva (peace and blessings be upon him). Once, a Burdah (cloak) was gifted to him, and he liked it. A man from the Muslims stood up and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, give it to me." And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not turn away a person who asked him. It is as if he is the one intended by the poet's saying:
"He never said 'no' except in his tashahhud *** Were it not for the tashahhud, his 'no' would have been 'yes' "
So the Messenger gave it to him, and the man was pleased with that. How could you ask the Messenger for a Burdah that was brought to him and he liked, when you know that he does not turn away a person who asks him? He said: "I asked for it to be my shroud," and it became his shroud. Here, he wanted to seek blessing in his tangible traces. Seeking blessing in his tangible traces is undoubtedly something that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of, and the Companions competed to do it. So much so that when the Messenger came to Quraysh in the Battle of al-Haybah, when he performed ablution, they nearly fought over his ablution water. May Allah's prayers and peace be upon him.
So, it is derived from this hadith: seeking blessing in his tangible traces. Does this extend to those who came after him in his Ummah in terms of knowledge, worship, character, and calling? The answer is: No, it is not so. First, because others are not protected from error. Second, the criterion is the ending. How many people appear to people to be from the people of Paradise, yet they are from the people of the Fire, may Allah protect us. O Allah, make our endings good.
So, the important point is that others are not equated to him in this. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to seek tangible blessing from anyone other than the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), even if in his view that person is the most guided, the most knowledgeable, the most pious, and the most God-fearing of people. He does not seek blessing from him. Now, if someone says: We often hear that when a beloved person arrives at a person's place, they say: "Blessing has come to us." Is this permissible? We say: This requires detail. If he intends to seek blessing in his body, this is not permissible. But if he intends to seek blessing in the fact that he is a man whose knowledge and benefit are hoped for, then this is correct. Because among the blessings of a person is that Allah causes good through his hands that benefits the servants of Allah. For this reason, when the verse of tayammum (dry ablution) was revealed, do you know that the verse of tayammum has a cause? It is that the ring of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was lost. Her ring was lost, and the people were detained seeking it, because she is the wife of whom? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They were detained seeking it while they had no water, so Allah the Exalted revealed the verse of tayammum. Everything has a cause by the permission of Allah. Allah revealed the verse of tayammum, so Usayd ibn Hudhayr said: "This is not the first of your blessings, O family of Abu Bakr. May Allah reward you! This is not the first of your blessings, O family of Abu Bakr." Allah made the loss of Aisha's ring a blessing for the Ummah to this day, and to a day not far from our day.
So, the blessing that is knowledge, guidance, enjoining good, and forbidding evil, this is an intangible blessing. A person may carry it and be a blessing for his family and for those he associates with. But a tangible, material blessing, no. And because of the excessive seeking of blessing by people in me in Makkah, it is something strange! A person comes and rubs his hands on the head, the back, and the shawl. Sometimes he presses his forehead against my forehead, hoping to take the blessing. I understand from this that the people there, with their scholars, practice this! And they do not find it objectionable. Otherwise, if they found it objectionable, they would not do it. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.
We mentioned that the apparent meaning of the hadith is that washing the dead is for cleaning and purification. Now, if a questioner asked and said: If the deceased has now cleaned himself with shampoo and soap, and no impurity remains on his body, is he washed or not? He is washed once. If I said: How do you obligate washing him once when he is clean? We say: This washing became obligatory due to death, and bringing something forward of its cause is not valid. Then, did this man who cleaned and washed himself before he die intend to take a bath for death? No. And even if he intended it, it would not be valid, because washing the dead is only done after death, so his cleaning before he died is not considered.