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Home / The Four Rites / Shrouding
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Shrouding

— Kafan al-Mayyit

After ghusl, the body is wrapped in the kafan — clean white cloth, simple, modest, and covering the whole body. The Sunnah is three sheets for a man and five pieces for a woman.

Ready to shroud? Step-by-step walkthrough mode — one step at a time, designed for use during the kafan. Start walkthrough →
From the Sunnah
كُفِّنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي ثَلَاثَةِ أَثْوَابٍ بِيضٍ سَحُولِيَّةٍ مِنْ كُرْسُفٍ
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shrouded in three white Ṣaḥūlī garments of cotton — no shirt, no turban."
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1264
For a man
3 sheets
Lifāfah · izār · qamīṣ
For a woman
5 pieces
Plus khimār and sinaband
Cloth
White cotton
Clean, simple, sufficient to cover

Male Kafan — 3 pieces

1
The pieces

Prepare three white cotton sheets

  • Lifāfah — large outer sheet, roughly 240 × 200 cm. Bottommost layer.
  • Izār — middle sheet, same size. Centered on top of the lifāfah.
  • Qamīṣ — 120 × 90 cm. Fold in half, cut a neck opening while folded (one cut left, one cut right) creating a slit the head passes through.
  • Three cloth ties of the same fabric.
Madhab note The qamīṣ is part of the Ḥanafī kafan. The Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools hold that the Sunnah is three identical wrapping sheets with no shirt, based on the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah: "He was shrouded in three white cloths — there was no shirt or turban among them" (Bukhārī 1264).
Note The awrah cover from ghusl stays on during the transfer. It is removed once the izār is folded over the body.
2
Layout

Lay out and scent the sheets

  1. Lay the lifāfah flat on the stretcher.
  2. Lay the izār on top, centered.
  3. Place the qamīṣ in the center of the izār.
  4. Lightly scent the cloth with bakhūr (incense) — an odd number of times. Based on a narration from Jābir: "When you perfume the deceased, make it an odd number" (al-Mustadrak 1242; authenticated by al-Ḥākim on Muslim's conditions, al-Nawawī, and al-Albānī).
3
Wrapping

Fold and tie, left first then right on top

  1. Transfer the body onto the sheets.
  2. Slip the head through the qamīṣ neck opening, then lay the fabric flat over the torso.
  3. Fold the left side of the izār over the body, then the right over it (right side always on top).
  4. Slide out and remove the ghusl awrah cover from underneath — the body is now covered by the izār.
  5. Fold the left side of the lifāfah over, then the right over it.
  6. Tie with three bands: above the head, at the waist, below the feet. Knots should be simple and easy to untie at the grave. The ties are untied once the body is placed in the grave.

Before you begin

  • Confirm the kafan area is clean and the stretcher is ready.
  • Ensure all pieces are laid out and measured before transferring the body.
  • Maintain privacy and keep the awrah covered throughout.
  • If the family wishes to see the face before the final wrap, leave the top open, allow a brief farewell, then close and tie.

Special Cases

Martyr (Shaheed)

A battlefield martyr is not given kafan sheets — they are buried in the garments they died in, which serve as their shroud. Their blood is left upon them as an honour. Weapons and armor are removed (scholarly consensus); rulings on leather, shoes, and belts differ by madhab.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1343 · IslamQA 72303

Miscarriage

If the fetus showed any sign of life, full shrouding applies as with any Muslim (consensus — Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Qudāmah). Al-Nawawī states the child is shrouded like an adult.

  • Before 4 months: the fetus is wrapped in a piece of cloth and buried. No formal shrouding (al-Durar al-Saniyyah §5).
  • After 4 months: shrouding is obligatory — the soul has been breathed in. Al-Nawawī says the child is shrouded like an adult with three cloths (al-Majmūʿ 5/210). Consult your local imam for guidance specific to your madhab.
Child (before puberty)
  • For a female child: use a shirt and two winding sheets.
  • For a male child: two or three winding sheets may be used.
Died in ihrām
  • Shroud only in the two garments of ihrām they were wearing.
  • No additional kafan sheets. No perfume. Do not cover his head.
Madhab difference The above is the Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī position. The Ḥanafīs and Mālikīs hold that iḥrām ends at death, so the deceased is shrouded normally with perfume and head covering. Follow the guidance of your local imam.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1265 · Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1206

Insufficient cloth

If the cloth is insufficient for the Sunnah, a single sheet that covers the entire body is acceptable. If even one full sheet is not available, prioritize covering the head and use grass or leaves over the feet — as the Prophet ﷺ instructed for Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr at Uḥud (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1276).

Hadith on Shrouding

Ṣaḥīḥ — authentic Ḥasan — good Ḍaʿīf — weak
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1264 · Muslim 941
Ṣaḥīḥ
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) narrated: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shrouded in three white Yemeni cotton garments — with no shirt and no turban."
The foundational basis for the Sunnah of three sheets. Scholars classify this practice as mustaḥabb (recommended), not wājib (obligatory).
Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4061
Ṣaḥīḥ
Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Wear white garments, for they are among your best clothes, and shroud your deceased in them."
Imām al-Nawawī noted there is ijmāʿ (scholarly consensus) on the recommendation of white cloth for shrouding.
Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhī 995
Ṣaḥīḥ
Abū Qatādah (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "When one of you shrouds his brother, let him use the best of his shrouds."
Scholars reconcile this with Abū Bakr's narration below: "best" means clean, decent quality, and dignified — not cheap to the point of disrespect, but not extravagant either. The commentary notes "هو الصِّفَاقُ لَيْسَ بِالْمُرْتَفِعِ" — thick and substantial quality, not expensive or luxurious.
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 943
Ṣaḥīḥ
Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh (رضي الله عنهما) reported that the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in a sermon a man who had died and been wrapped in a shroud not long enough to cover his body and was buried at night. The Prophet ﷺ rebuked this and said: "When any one of you shrouds his brother, he should shroud him well."
The Prophet ﷺ reprimanded burial at night when it prevented others from offering the funeral prayer over the deceased.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1276 · Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 940
Ṣaḥīḥ
Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr (رضي الله عنه) was martyred at Uḥud and only one sheet was available. When his head was covered his feet were exposed, and vice versa. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Cover his head and place grass over his feet."
Confirms that one cloth is valid when only one is available. The minimum is that the entire body is covered.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1387
Ṣaḥīḥ
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) reported: During his fatal illness, Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه) asked her how many garments the Prophet ﷺ was shrouded in. She said three white Ṣaḥūlī cotton garments, with no shirt and no turban. Then he said: "Wash this garment of mine, and add two more garments and shroud me in them." She said it was worn out. He replied: "A living person has more right to wear new clothes than a dead one; the shroud is only for the body's pus."
Extravagant or expensive shrouds are discouraged. Simplicity is the Sunnah.
al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī 6655
Ḥasan
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever washes a deceased Muslim and conceals his faults, Allah will forgive him forty times… And whoever shrouds him, Allah will clothe him on the Day of Resurrection with silk and brocade of Paradise."
Graded ḥasan by Ibn Ḥajar and al-Albānī.
Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2810 · Sunan al-Nasāʾī 5323
Ṣaḥīḥ
Samurah ibn Jundab (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Wear white clothes, for they are the purest and closest to modesty — and shroud the dead in them."
Aḥmad — discussed in Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz p. 85
Ḍaʿīf
"The Prophet ﷺ was shrouded in seven garments."
Rejected by Shaykh al-Albānī and others as unreliable.

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