Washing the Body

Room setup

• Ensure the room is clean and private — no one without a role should be present.
• Confirm the drain hose is connected from the table to the floor vent.
• Set the faucet to the lukewarm marker. Confirm the temperature with your hand before starting.
• Lay out all supplies within reach before the body is brought in — extra awrah covers, small towels for washing and istinjā', gloves, cotton, and anything else needed. Once you are gloved and the body is present, you must not leave the room and return with your gloves on — this risks cross-contamination. If you need to retrieve something from outside, remove your gloves first, get it, then re-glove before continuing.
• Small towels used during washing or istinjā' are single-use only — dispose of them after use. They are not to be reused.
• If any medical tubes or IV lines are already visible, follow facility guidance for handling them. Do not search under the awrah for anything.
• Remove clothing, toe tags, and jewelry from already-exposed areas.

Personal prep

• Make your niyyah (intention): performing ghusl for the deceased for the sake of Allah. Say Bismillah when you begin.
• Wear gloves and an apron. Double-glove if needed. A mask is optional.
• It is Sunnah to perform your own wudu before beginning.

Wudu steps (in order)

1. Right hand — wash up to the wrist, getting between the fingers.
2. Left hand — wash up to the wrist, getting between the fingers.
3. Mouth — wipe around the lips with a damp cloth. Do not pour water in.
4. Nose — wipe around the nostrils with a damp cloth or cotton swab. Do not pour water in.
5. Face — Upper Body Lead pours water gently around the face. Keep cotton or a hand shielding the mouth and nose openings.
6. Right arm — wash from fingertips to elbow.
7. Left arm — wash from fingertips to elbow.
8. Head — Upper Body Lead wipes the head once with a wet hand, front to back. Do not pour.
9. Ears — wipe inside and behind the ears with wet fingers or a cotton swab.
10. Right foot — Lower Body Lead washes to the ankle, getting between the toes.
11. Left foot — Lower Body Lead washes to the ankle, getting between the toes.

How many times to wash

• Minimum: one complete wash covering the entire body (sufficient if needed).
• Sunnah: wash three times — or five or seven if the body is not yet clean. Always an odd number.
• The final wash must include camphor water (see Step 7).

Soap wash — right side

Rinse thoroughly before moving to the left side.

Soap wash — left side

Rinse thoroughly before washing the back.

Soap wash — back

• To turn the body: Lower Body Lead crosses one leg over the other (right over left to roll right, left over right to roll left). This shifts the body's weight and makes turning controlled and safe.
• Upper Body Lead places the upper arm across the chest to prevent dangling, then slides their forearm under the shoulder blade and lifts slightly.
• Lower Body Lead gently pushes at the hip. A 30–40° roll is enough — do not roll fully onto the side.
• One person holds the body steady while the other washes the back. Then switch.
• Upper Body Lead: upper back and shoulder blades.
  Lower Body Lead: lower back, hips, backs of thighs and legs.
• Rinse. Return the body to its back gently.

Martyr (Shaheed)

• A martyr is not washed and not shrouded. They are buried in the clothes they died in.
• The strongest scholarly opinion is that Salat al-Janazah is also not performed for martyrs.

Miscarriage

• Less than 4 months (less than 120 days): no ghusl. Wrap in a white cloth and bury. No Salat al-Janazah.
• More than 4 months: may be washed and shrouded in one or two sheets. Salat al-Janazah is optional.
• If the fetus was stillborn or showed no signs of life at birth, the same rulings apply.

Baby (born alive)

• If the baby showed any signs of life after birth — even briefly — full ghusl, shrouding, and Salat al-Janazah apply.
• Can be washed by either men or women.

Child (before puberty)

• Full ghusl and Salat al-Janazah apply.
• Can be washed by either men or women.
• Once puberty is reached, they are treated as adults — female washed by females, male by males.

Decomposed or damaged body

• If washing is possible without causing the body to break apart, it must be washed.
• If water would cause further decomposition or rupture, pour water gently over the body without rubbing.
• If even pouring water is not possible, wash the parts that can be washed and perform tayammum (dry ablution) on the rest.
• If no water is available, tayammum is performed on the whole body.

Died in ihrām

• Wash with water and sidr as normal.
• Do not use perfume at any stage — not during washing, drying, or shrouding.
• Shroud in the two garments of ihrām only, not in a full kafan.

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1265 · Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1206)