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

With this chain of narration, from Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub, from a group of our companions, from Sahl ibn Ziyad, from al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, from ‘Ali ibn Ri’ab, from al-Halabi, who said that Abu ‘Abdillah عليه السلام said: Imam عليه السلام said: "The deceased is washed three times - once with water and lotus leaves (sidr), once with water mixed with camphor, and once again with plain water. Then, he is shrouded (in a burial shroud)." Imam عليه السلام also said: "My father (Imam Al Baqir عليه السلام) wrote in his will that I should shroud him in three garments - one of them being a patterned Yemeni wrap (hibrah), another garment, and a shirt." I asked: "Why did he write this?" He (Imam Al Baqir عليه السلام) replied: "Out of concern for what people might say." Imam عليه السلام continued: "We also tied his head with a turban and dug his grave wider because he was solid-build (stout). He instructed me to raise the grave above the ground by four finger-widths, spaced apart, and mentioned that sprinkling water on the grave is commendable."