his wives." Narrated by Abu Dawud(1). Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, willed that his wife, Asma bint 'Umays, should wash him(2), and she was fasting, so he insisted that she break her fast. When she finished washing him, she remembered his oath, so she said, "I will not follow him in breaking an oath today." She then called for water and drank. Abu Musa was washed by his wife, Umm 'Abd Allah, and Jabir ibn Zayd willed that his wife wash him. Ahmad said: "There is no disagreement among the people regarding this."

378 - Issue: He said: "And if necessity dictates that a man should wash his wife, there is no harm."

The well-known view from Ahmad is that a husband may wash his wife(1). This is the position of 'Alqamah, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid ibn al-Aswad, Jabir ibn Zayd, Sulayman ibn Yasar, Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, Qatadah, Hammad, Malik, al-Awza'i, al-Shafi'i, and Ishaq. There is a second narration from Ahmad that the husband may not wash her; this is the view of Abu Hanifah and al-Thawri, because death is a separation that permits her sister [in marriage] and four others [besides her], so it prohibits looking and touching, just like divorce. Our evidence is what Ibn al-Mundhir narrated, that 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, washed Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her(2). This became well-known among the Companions, and they did not disapprove of it, so it constitutes a consensus. Also, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her: "If you were to die before me, I would wash you and shroud you." Narrated by Ibn Majah(3). The principle in attributing an action to a person is that it is for direct performance, and interpreting it as [issuing] a command invalidates the benefit of the specification.