Chapter on Guiding the Dying, Positioning Them at Death, Procedures for Their Final Moments, Washing Them, and Placing Them in Shrouds

Narrated by the Shaykh (Al-Mufid), may Allah سبحانه وتعالى support him, from Abu al-Qasim Ja‘far bin Muhammad, from Muhammad bin Ya‘qub, from Ahmad bin Mihran, from Muhammad bin Ali, from Ali bin Abi Hamza: There was a year in Mecca when many people died due to lightning strikes. I entered upon Abu Ibrahim عليه السلام, and Imam عليه السلام said, without me asking: “It is necessary for the drowned and those struck by lightning to be delayed for three days before burial, unless a smell arises from them indicating death.” I said to Imam عليه السلام: “May I be your ransom, it seems you are informing me that many people have been buried alive?” Imam عليه السلام replied: “Yes, O Ali, many people have indeed been buried alive and did not die until they were in their graves.”