Screening it is more feasible and further removed from resembling women, in addition to the fact that it involves following the companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
367 - Issue: He said: (And her mahram [unmarriageable relative] places her in it; if there is no one, then the women; if there is no one, then the elderly men).
There is no disagreement among the scholars that the most entitled person to place a woman in her grave is her mahram, who is anyone for whom it was permissible to look at her during her lifetime and with whom she was permitted to travel. Al-Khallal narrated with his chain of transmission from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he stood at the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, when Zaynab bint Jahsh passed away, and said: "Beware (1)! I have sent to the women for someone to place her into her grave?" They replied: "Someone who was permitted to enter upon her during her lifetime." I saw that they spoke the truth (2). When Umar’s wife passed away, he said to her family: "You are more entitled to her (3)." This is because her mahram is the most entitled of people to her guardianship during life, and likewise after death. The apparent meaning of Ahmad’s words is that relatives are prioritized over the husband. Al-Khallal said: The narration from Abu Abd Allah is consistent that if the guardians (awliya) and the husband are both present, the guardians are more beloved to him. If the guardians are not present, then the husband is more entitled than a stranger, due to what we mentioned of the report of Umar, and because the husband’s marital status has ended with her death, while the kinship remains. Al-Qadi said: The husband is more entitled than the guardians, because Abu Bakr placed his wife into her grave instead of her relatives, and because he is more entitled to wash her than they are, so he is more entitled to place her into her grave, as is the case in matters of consensus; and whichever of them is prioritized, the other follows. If neither of them is present, it has been narrated from Ahmad that he said: It is more beloved to me that the women place her in, because it is permissible for them to look at her, and they are more entitled to wash her.
(1) Omitted from: the original. (2) Extracted by al-Bayhaqi, in: The Chapter on the deceased being placed in his grave by men... etc., from the Book of Funerals. al-Sunan al-Kubra 4/53. And by Ibn Abi Shaybah, in: The Chapter on the woman, who places her in her grave and who is responsible for her, from the Book of Funerals. al-Musannaf 3/324. (3) Its extraction was mentioned previously on page 408.
كَشْفَهُ أمْكَنُ وأَبْعَدُ من التَّشَبُّهِ بالنِّساءِ، مع ما فيه من اتِّبَاعِ أصْحابِ رسولِ اللهِ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-.
٣٦٧ - مسألة؛ قال: (ويُدْخِلُهَا مَحْرَمُهَا، فَإنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فَالنِّسَاءُ، فَإنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فَالْمَشَايِخُ)
لا خِلَافَ بين أهْلِ العِلْمِ في أنَّ أوْلَى النَّاسِ بإِدْخالِ المَرْأَةِ قَبْرَها مَحْرَمُها، وهو مَن كان يَحِلُّ له النَّظَرُ إليها في حَياتِها، ولها السَّفَرُ معه، وقد رَوَى الخَلَّالُ، بإسْنَادِهِ عن عمرَ، رَضِىَ اللَّه عنه، أنَّه قامَ عند مِنْبَرِ رسولِ اللهِ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- حين تُوُفِّيَتْ زينبُ بنتُ جَحْشٍ، فقال: ألَا (١) إنِّي أرْسَلْتُ إلى النِّسْوَةِ مَن يُدْخِلُها قَبْرَها؟ فأرْسَلْنَ: مَن كان يَحِلُّ له الدُّخُولُ عليها في حَيَاتِها. فرأيْتُ أنْ قد صَدَقْنَ (٢). ولما تُوُفِّيَتِ امْرَأةُ عمرَ، قال لِأهْلِهَا: أنْتُمْ أحَقُّ بها (٣). ولأنَّ مَحْرَمَها أوْلَى النَّاسِ بِوِلايَتِها في الحياةِ، فكذلك بعدَ المَوْتِ. وظَاهِرُ كلامِ أحمدَ أنَّ الأقَارِبَ يُقَدَّمُونَ على الزَّوْجِ. قال الخَلَّالُ: اسْتَقامَتِ الرِّوَايَةُ عن أبي عبدِ اللَّه، أنَّه إذا حَضَرَ الأوْلِياءُ والزَّوْجُ، فالأوْلِياءُ أحَبُّ إليه، فإنْ لم يكنِ الأوْلِياءُ فالزَّوْجُ أحَقُّ مِن الغَرِيبِ؛ لما ذَكَرْنَا من خَبَرِ عمرَ، ولأنَّ الزَّوْجَ قد زالَتْ زَوْجِيَّتُه بِمَوْتِها، والقَرابَةُ بَاقِيَةٌ. وقال القاضي: الزَّوْجُ أحَقُّ من الأوْلِياءِ؛ لأنَّ أبا بكرٍ أدْخَلَ امْرَأتَهُ قَبْرَها دون أقَارِبِها، ولأنَّه أحَقُّ بِغُسْلِهَا منهم، فكان أوْلَى بإدْخالِهَا قَبْرَها، كمَحَلِّ الوِفاقِ، وأيُّهما قُدِّمَ فالآخَرُ بعدَه. فإنْ لم يكنْ وَاحِدٌ منهما، فقد رُوِىَ عن أحمدَ أنَّه قال: أحَبُّ إلىَّ أن يُدْخِلَها النِّساءُ؛ لأنَّه مُبَاحٌ لَهُنَّ النَّظَرُ إليها، وهُنَّ أَحقُّ بِغُسْلِهَا.
(١) سقط من: الأصل.(٢) أخرجه البيهقي، في: باب الميت يدخله قبره الرجال. . . إلخ، من كتاب الجنائز. السنن الكبرى ٤/ ٥٣. وابن أبي شيبة، في: باب في المرأة كم يدخلها قبرها ومن يليها، من كتاب الجنائز. المصنف ٣/ ٣٢٤.(٣) تقدم تخريجه في صفحة ٤٠٨.
