washing. 'Ata' said: A single washing is sufficient if they cleanse him. Ahmad said: It does not please me that he is washed [only] once, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Wash her three or five [times]." This is by way of dislike (karaha) rather than [a matter of] insufficiency, for the reason we have mentioned, and because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said regarding the muhrim (pilgrim in state of ihram) who was struck by his she-camel: "Wash him with water and lotus leaves," and he did not mention a number. Ibn 'Aqil said: It is possible that the intention is not considered, because the purpose is cleanliness, so it is akin to washing away an impurity. This is not correct, because if it were so, it would not be obligatory to wash one who is already clean, and it would be permissible to wash him with rose water and all other things that achieve cleanliness; rather, it is a ritual washing of devotion, akin to washing for janaba.
343 - Issue: He said: (He should dry him with a garment, and perfume his shrouds with incense.)
The sum of this is that when the washer finishes washing the deceased, he should dry him with a garment so that he does not dampen his shrouds. In the hadith of Umm Sulaym: "When you have finished with her, cast a clean garment over her." The Qadi mentioned in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas regarding the washing of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: They dried him with a garment. The meaning of perfuming his shrouds (tajmir) is to incense them with 'ud (aloeswood), which is done by leaving the 'ud on the fire in a censer, then perfuming the shroud with it until its fragrance permeates and makes it pleasant; this is done after rose water has been sprinkled upon it so that the scent clings to it. It has been narrated from Jabir that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "If you incense the deceased, incense him three [times]." Abu Sa'id, Ibn 'Umar, and Ibn 'Abbas bequeathed that their shrouds be incensed with 'ud. Abu Hurayra said: The deceased should be incensed. [This is also] because this is the custom of the living person when washing and perfuming his garments, that he is perfumed with fragrance and 'ud, so likewise is the deceased.
(1) Previously mentioned its takhrij from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas on page 376. (2) In [A]: "al-janaba" (the major ritual impurity). (1) Previously mentioned its takhrij on page 373. (2) 'Abd al-Razzaq recorded something similar on the authority of Hisham ibn 'Urwa, with the wording: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was wrapped in a hibara garment in which he had been dried. Al-Musannaf 3/422. (3) Recorded by Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 3/331. (4) In [A] and [M]: "tajdid" (renewal).
