Chapter on Instructing the Dying (Talqin al-Muhtadarin)
Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām|Volume 1|Book 1|Chapter 23
عَلِيُّ بْنُ مَهْزِيَارَ عَنْ فَضَالَةَ بْنِ أَيُّوبَ عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ اَلَّذِي يُغَسِّلُ اَلْمَيِّتَ عَلَيْهِ غُسْلٌ قَالَ« نَعَمْ» قُلْتُ فَإِذَا مَسَّهُ وَ هُوَ سُخْنٌ قَالَ« لاَ غُسْلَ عَلَيْهِ فَإِذَا بَرَدَ فَعَلَيْهِ اَلْغُسْلُ» قُلْتُ وَ اَلْبَهَائِمُ وَ اَلطَّيْرُ إِذَا مَسَّهَا عَلَيْهِ غُسْلٌ قَالَ« لاَ لَيْسَ هَذَا كَالْإِنْسَانِ».
Ali ibn Mahziyar, from Fadalah ibn Ayyub, from Mu’awiyah ibn Ammar, said:
I asked Imam عليه السلام: “Does one who washes the deceased have to perform ghusl?” Abu Abdullah عليه السلام said: "Yes." I asked: “What if he touches him while he (the deceased) is still warm?” Imam عليه السلام said: "There is no ghusl required. But if he (the deceased) has cooled, then ghusl is required." I asked about (dead) animals and birds - if one touches them, is ghusl required? Imam عليه السلام said: "No, they are not like humans."
- Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām fī Sharḥ al-Muqniʿah, vol. 1, p. 454
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tahdhīb, p. 119