Chapter on Instructing the Dying (Talqin al-Muhtadarin)

Narrated from Al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, from Al-Fadl ibn Yunus Al-Katib, who said: I asked Imam عليه السلام: "What is your opinion about a man from our companions who dies and does not leave enough for his shroud? Should I buy his shroud using zakat?" Abu Al-Hasan Musa عليه السلام replied: "Give his family from the zakat an amount sufficient for them to prepare him, so that they are the ones who handle his preparation." I said: "What if he has no children or anyone to take care of his matters, and I handle his preparation using zakat?" Imam عليه السلام said: "My father (Imam Ja’far Al Sadiq عليه السلام) used to say, 'The sanctity of a believer’s body after death is like its sanctity during life.' Therefore, cover his body and his private parts, prepare him, shroud him, and anoint him, and count that as part of the zakat. Then accompany his funeral." I asked: "If some of his brothers purchase another shroud for him, and he has debts, should he be shrouded with one and his debts be paid with the other?" Imam عليه السلام said: "No. This is not an inheritance he left; rather, it is something that came to him after his death. So let them shroud him with the one that was purchased, and the other can remain with them to manage their affairs."