Rules concerning a dead person Part 1

Ghusl for touching a dead body

- If a person touches a human dead body which has become cold and has not yet been given Ghusl (i.e. brings any part of his own body in contact with it) he should do Ghusl regardless of whether he touched it while asleep or awake, voluntarily or otherwise. Ghusl will also be wajib if his nail or bone touches the nail or bone of the dead body. However, Ghusl is not obligatory if one touches a dead animal. 

- If a person touches a dead body which has not become entirely cold, Ghusl will not be wajib, even if the part touched has become cold. 

- If a person brings his hair in contact with the body of a dead person, or if his body touches the hair of the dead person, or if his hair touches the hair of the dead person, Ghusl will not become obligatory. 

- If a person touches a dead child or a fetus in which life has entered, then Ghusl for touching it will be obligatory to perform Ghusl hence, if a still-born child whose body has become cold, comes in contact with the outer part of its mother's body, the mother should do Ghusl for touching the dead body. In fact, as an obligatory precaution, she should do Ghusl even if the child has not touched the outer part of her body. 

- A child who is born after its mother has died, and her body has become cold, and if it touches any outer part of mother's dead body, it should do Ghusl on attaining the age of puberty. In fact, it should do Ghusl, as a precaution, even if it did not touch the mother's body. 

- If a person touches a dead body after it has been given three obligatory Ghusls, Ghusl for touching will not be wajib. However, if he touches any part of the dead body before the completion of 3 Ghusls he should do Ghusl for touching the dead body, even if the 3rd Ghusl of that part which he has touched may have been done. 

- If an insane person or a minor touches a dead body, the insane person would do Ghusl when he becomes sane, and similarly the minor child would do Ghusl when he attains the age of puberty. 

- If a part is separated from a living person, or from a dead body which has not yet been given Ghusls, and a person touches that separated part he does not have to do any Ghusl even if that separated part contains bones. 

- It is not obligatory to do Ghusl for touching a separated bone which has not been given Ghusl, whether it has been separated from a dead body or a living person. The same rule applies to touching the teeth which have been separated form a dead body or a living person. 

- The method of doing Ghusl for touching the dead body is the same as of Ghusl for Janabat. However, for a person who has done Ghusl for touching a dead body, the recommended precaution is that he should perform Wudhu if he wants to pray. 

- One Ghusl is sufficient for one who touches several corpses or touches the same corpse a number of times. 

- A person who has not done Ghusl after touching a dead body is not prohibited from staying or pausing in a masjid or from having sexual intercourse with his wife, or from reciting the verses of the holy Qur'an which have obligatory Sajdah. However, he should do Ghusl for offering prayers or for other similar acts of worship. 

Rules related to a dying person

- A Muslim who is dying, whether man or woman, old or young, should, as a measure of precaution, be laid on his/her back if possible, in such a manner that the soles of his/her feet would face the Qibla (direction towards the holy Ka'bah) 

- It is recommended that the dead body should be laid facing the Qibla during the Ghusls. However, when Ghusls are completed, it is better to lay it the same way as it is laid when prayers are offered for it. 

- It is an obligatory precaution upon every Muslim, to lay a dying person facing the Qibla. And if the dying person consents to it, there is no need to seek the permission for it from the guardian. Otherwise, the permission must be sought. 

- It is recommended that the doctrinal testimony of Islam (Shahadatain) and the acknowledgement of the twelve Imams and other tenets of faith should be inculcated to a dying person in such a manner that he/she would understand. It is also recommended that these utterances are repeated till the time of his/her death. 

- It is recommended that the following supplications should be read over to a dying person in such a manner that he/she would understand: Allahhummaghfir liyal kathira mim ma'asika wataqabal minniyal yasira min ta'atika ya man yaqbalul yasira wa ya'afu 'anil kathir, Iqbal minniyal yasira wa'fu 'anniyal kathir. Innaka antal 'afuwwul Ghafur. Allahumma irhamni fa innaka Rahim. 

- It is Mustahab to carry a person experiencing painfully slow death to the place where he used to offer prayers, provided that it does not cause him any discomfort. 

- If a person is in the throes of death, it is Mustahab to recite by his side Surah Yasin, Surah as-Saffat, Surah al-Ahzab, Ayat al-Kursi and 54th verse of Surah al-A'raf and the last three verses of Surah al-Baqarah. In fact it is better to recite as much from the holy Qur'an as possible. 

- It is Makrooh to leave a dying person alone or to place a weight on his stomach, or to chatter idly or wail near him or to let only women remain with him. It is Makrooh to be by his/her side a person that is in the state of Janabat or Haydh.

Rules to follow after the death

- It is Mustahab that the eyes and lips of a dead person be shut, its chin be tied, its hands and feet be straightened and to spread a cloth over it. If a person dies at night it is Mustahab to light the place where he/she is, to inform Momineen to join the funeral, and to hasten the burial. 
But if, they are not sure of his/her death, they should wait till they are certain. Moreover, if the dead person is a pregnant woman and there is a living child in her womb, her burial should be delayed till such time that her left side is cut open and the child is taken out and then to stitch it back. 

The obligation of Ghusl, Kafan, Prayer and Dafn

- Giving Ghusl, Kafan, Hunoot, Prayer, and burial to every dead Muslim, regardless of whether he/she is an Ithna-Asheri or not, is wajib on the guardian. The guardian must either discharge all these duties himself or appoint someone to do them. And if anyone performs these duties, with or without the permission of the guardian, the guardian will be relieved of his responsibility.

And if the dead person had no guardian, or if the guardian refuses to discharge his duties, then these duties will be obligatory upon all equally, as Wajib-e-Kifaee which means if some people undertake to fulfil the obligation, others will be relieved of the responsibility. And if no one undertakes to do so, all will be equally sinful. And when a guardian refuses to discharge his duty, seeking his permission has no meaning. 

- If a person undertakes to fulfil the obligations to a dead body it is not obligatory on others to proceed for the same. However, if that person leaves the work half done, others must complete them. 

- If a person is certain that others are fulfilling their obligations properly, then it is not obligatory for him to proceed for the purpose. However, if he is in doubt or has suspicion, then he should take necessary steps. 

- If a person is certain that Ghusl, Kafan, Prayer or burial of a dead body has been performed incorrectly, he should proceed to do them correctly again. But if he just feels that probably the duties were not correctly discharged, or if he has a mere doubt, then it is not obligatory to undertake the work again. 

- The guardian of a wife is her husband. And in other cases, men who inherit the dead person according to the categories which will be explained later, will take precedence over each other. However, to say that the father of the deceased takes precedence over the son, the grandfather over the brothers, or full brothers over half-brothers or the paternal uncles over the maternal uncles, is a ponderable issue, and one should act with caution as the situation demands. 

- A minor or an insane person does not qualify for guardianship in matters related to the dead person; similarly, an absent person who can neither attend to the duties himself, nor appoint someone to do them, has no authority as a guardian. 

- If a person claims that he is the guardian of the dead person, or that the guardian of the dead person has given him permission to carry out its Ghusl, Kafan and Dafn, or if he claims that he is the appointed executor of the dead person in the matter of its final rituals, his claim will be accepted, provided that he is reliable, or that the corpse is in his possession, or that two Just men testify to his statement. 

- If a dead person appoints someone other than his guardian to carry out his Ghusl, Kafan, Dafn and Prayer, then he will be the rightful person to fulfil those obligations. And it is not necessary that the person whom the deceased has appointed to carry out the duties personally should accept the will. However, if he accepts it he should act accordingly.