Shrouding the deceased in a chemise

Question

Praise be to Allah.

It is better not to shroud a man in a chemise, rather he
should be shrouded in three pieces of cloth which are wrapped around him, as
was done to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).

It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was shrouded in three
pieces of white Yemeni cotton cloth among which there was no chemise or
turban. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1264) and Muslim (941).

Ibn Hazm said: Allaah does not choose anything but the best
for His Prophet. End quote.

Al-Muhalla (5/118).

So it is better not to shroud a man in a chemise, but if he
is shrouded in a chemise, it is permissible.

Al-Nawawi said: It is not makrooh to shroud the deceased in a
chemise because of the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him,
which says that when ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ubayy died, his son came to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of
Allaah, give me your chemise so that I may shroud him in it, and (come and)
offer the funeral prayer for him, and pray for forgiveness for him. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave him his
chemise, and said: Call me so I may offer the funeral prayer for him. He
called him, and when he wanted to offer the prayer for him, ‘Umar (may
Allaah be pleased with him) objected and said: Didn’t Allaah forbid you to
offer the funeral prayer for the hypocrites? He said: “I have been given the
choice. [Allaah] said (interpretation of the meaning):
‘Whether you (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم) ask
forgiveness for them (hypocrites) or ask not forgiveness for them — (and
even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness — Allaah will not
forgive them’ [al-Tawbah 9:80].” He offered the
funeral prayer for him, then Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of
the meaning): “And never (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم)
pray (funeral prayer) for any of them (hypocrites) who dies, nor stand at
his grave” [al-Tawbah 9:84].

And it was narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) came to ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ubayy after he had been
placed in his grave and ordered that he be brought out. He lifted him onto
his knees and blew some of his saliva onto him and clothed him in his
chemise. And Allaah knows best. ‘Abbaas was also clothed in a chemise.
Sufyaan said: Abu Haroon Yahya said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was wearing two chemises. The son of
‘Abd-Allaah said to him: O Messenger of Allaah, give my father the chemise
that is closest to your skin. Sufyaan said: They think that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave ‘Abd-Allaah his chemise in
return for what he had done (for al-‘Abbas, the Prophet’s uncle). Narrated
by al-Bukhaari (1270).

Al-Bayhaqi included this hadeeth in al-Sunan al-Kubra
(3/564) under the chapter heading: “Permissibility of shrouding in a chemise
even though we prefer that which was chosen for the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). End quote.

The reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) shrouded ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ubayy in his chemise:

It was said that it was to soften the heart of his son.
Al-Nawawi said: This is what appears to be the case.

And it was said that it was because he [‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Ubayy) had given al-‘Abbaas, the paternal uncle of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a garment to wear when he
was taken prisoner on the day of Badr, so the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave him a garment in return, so that he
would not owe any favour to a kaafir.

And it was said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) did that in response to the request of his son when he
asked him for that.

See: al-Majmoo’ (5/152) and al-Mughni (3/384).

Some of the scholars said that it is makrooh to shroud the
deceased in a chemise.

Al-Nawawi said: This is weak, and in fact is false in terms
of evidence, because what is makrooh is that concerning which there is a
proven prohibition, but nothing is proven in this case, so the correct view
is that it is not makrooh, but it is contrary to what is best. End quote.

See: al-Majmoo’ (5/153) and al-Mughni (3/368).

With regard to women, they may be shrouded in a chemise. See
the answer to question no. 98189
which describes how a woman is to be shrouded.

And Allaah knows best.