with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Ahmad said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was washed in his qamis, and they had intended to remove it, but they were called out: 'Do not remove it, and cover your Prophet.'" Our argument is that stripping him is more possible for washing him and more effective in purifying him. The living person is stripped when he performs ghusl, and so it is with the deceased. Furthermore, if he is washed in his garment, the garment becomes impure due to what exits him, and it may not be purified by pouring water over it, thus causing the deceased to become impure from it. As for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that was specific to him; do you not see that they said: "We shall strip him just as we strip our dead"? This is what Aisha narrated (6). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "It was narrated from her through a sahih (authentic) channel." The manifest conclusion is that stripping the deceased, except for the awrah, was well-known among them, and this would not have been hidden from (7) the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); rather, the apparent meaning is that it was by his command, because they used to adhere to his opinion and act upon his command in matters of religious law, and following his command and action is more worthy than following others. Moreover, what was feared regarding the impurity of his qamis due to what exited him was not a concern in the case of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), because he was pure both in life and in death, unlike others. Sa'd only said: "Dig a lahd (niche) for me, and set the mud bricks upright over me, as was done for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." Even if it were established that he intended the washing, the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is more worthy of being followed. As for covering what is between the navel and the knee, we know of no disagreement regarding that, for it is an awrah, and one is commanded to cover the awrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Ali: "Do not look at the thigh of a living person, nor a dead one" (8). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "It is narrated: 'A man looking at the private parts of men is like him looking at the private parts of women, and the one who exposes himself is cursed' (9)."