Chapter on Touching the Deceased

For someone who cannot afford the weight of thirteen dirhams and one-third of camphor, the deceased should be embalmed with four mithqals (about 14 grams), If that is not possible, at least one mithqal (about 3.5 grams) should be used, as it is necessary. The Hunut (anointing with camphor) of a deceased man and a deceased woman is the same, and it is disliked that he use incense or follow the body with a censer, but the shroud is to be incensed (there is no harm in that). The camphor is to be daubed/applied to his eyes, nostrils, ears, lips, hands, knees, and all his joints, as well as on the places of prostration. If there is any remaining, it is placed on the chest. After completing the third washing of the deceased, the washer should wash their hands from the elbows to the fingers and cover the deceased with a cloth to dry the water. The water from the washing of the deceased must not be disposed of in a latrine or well ; it should instead be directed to drains or a pit. The deceased's nails should not be clipped, nor their mustache trimmed, nor any hair cut. If anything falls from the body, it should be included with the shroud. The washer then performs ablution, followed by a full-body wash, before placing the deceased in the shroud. Two palm stalks are placed with the deceased : one by the collarbone touching the skin and extending over the right side, and the other at the hip on the left side, between the shirt and the lower garment. The deceased is then wrapped in a shroud, with the left side folded over the right and vice versa. If desired, the upper shroud can be placed after the deceased is put in the grave, and they are then wrapped in a cloth, with the turban not tied like an Arab’s customary style, but rather having its ends placed on the chest. Before putting on the shirt, cotton mixed with ground fragrant herbs is placed around the lower body. Cotton is also placed over the front, with the legs pressed together and the thighs bound tightly with the lower garment to prevent anything from leaving the body. When the shrouding is complete, the embalming (Hunut) described earlier is performed. The body is then placed on a bier and carried to the grave. No one should say "Be gentle with him" or "Have mercy on him," nor strike their thighs in mourning, lest their reward is lost. If anything leaves the body after washing, the washing is not repeated; instead, the affected area of the shroud is cleaned until placed in the grave. If any discharge occurs in the grave, the affected part of the shroud is to be trimmed, and one of the other garments should be laid over the other.