344 - Issue: He said: (He should be shrouded in three white garments, wrapped in them successively, and hunut [perfume for the deceased] should be placed between them.)
The most excellent [practice] according to our Imam, may Allah have mercy on him, is that a man be shrouded in three white wrappers, containing neither a shirt nor a turban, neither adding to them nor subtracting from them. Al-Tirmidhi said: The practice followed by most of the scholars among the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and others is based upon this, and it is the school of al-Shafi'i. It is recommended that the shroud be white, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) was shrouded in three white garments. [This is also] because of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): "Wear your white garments, for they are the purest and most pleasant, and shroud your dead in them." Recorded by al-Nasa'i. It has been narrated from Abu Hanifa that it is recommended that he be shrouded in an izar (lower garment), a rida' (upper garment), and a shirt, because it was narrated from Ibn al-Mughaffal that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was shrouded in his shirt. [Also,] because the Prophet (peace be upon him) clothed 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy in his shirt and shrouded him in it. Recorded by al-Nasa'i. Our response is the statement of 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was shrouded...
(1) Hunut: A fragrance mixed specifically for the deceased. (2) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on White Garments for the Shroud, the Chapter on the Shroud and [the Absence of] a Turban, and the Chapter on Death on a Monday, from the Book of Funerals. Sahih al-Bukhari 2/95, 97, 127. And Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Shroud of the Deceased, from the Book of Funerals. Sahih Muslim 2/649. And Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Shroud, from the Book of Funerals. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/177. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding the Shroud of the Prophet (peace be upon him), from the Chapters on Funerals. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 4/217. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the Shroud of the Prophet (peace be upon him), from the Book of Funerals. Al-Mujtaba 4/29, 30. And Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding the Shroud of the Prophet (peace be upon him), from the Book of Funerals. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/472. And Imam Malik, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding the Shroud of the Deceased, from the Book of Funerals. Al-Muwatta 1/223-224. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/118, 132. All of them [recorded it] from the hadith of 'Aisha. (3) Previously mentioned its takhrij on page 229. (4) Dropped from [M]. (5) Cited by al-Haythami in Majma' al-Zawa'id 3/24, and attributed it to al-Tabarani in al-Kabir. (6) In: The Chapter on the Shirt in the Shroud, from the Book of Funerals. Al-Mujtaba 4/30, 31. It was also recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on the Shroud in the Shirt in which he is wrapped... etc., and the Chapter on whether the deceased may be removed from the grave and the lahd (niche) for a cause, from the Book of Funerals, and in: The Chapter on Clothing for Captives, from the Book of Jihad, and in: The Interpretation of Surat al-Tawba, the Chapter on {Ask forgiveness for them or do not...}.
