ILM AL-HÂL

189 is placed on the left side and the right side is washed and then it is placed on the right side to wash the left side. Then the person bathing the corpse raises the upper body up, leaning it against himself and rubs the abdomen. If any excrement comes out, it is cleansed without any need for renewing Wudhû. Lastly, the corpse is dried with a clean piece of cloth and wrapped in the shroud. KAFAN (THE SHROUD) Kafan (the shroud) is a long piece of cloth that the corpse is covered and buried within. The shroud for males consists of three pieces: Al-Qamis, Al-Idhâr and Al-Lifafah. As for females, it has two additional pieces (i.e. in addition to those described above): A head wrapper to cover the head and the face and a cloth for wrapping the breasts. If there is insufficient cloth for a full shroud, then merely Al-Idhâr and Al-Lifafah will be enough for males while Al- Idhâr and Al-Lifafah and the head-cover will be enough for females. If this is not available, any length of cloth may be used. White cotton cloth is preferable to other materials. HOW TO SHROUD A DEAD BODY Qamis is a loose, sleeveless shirt, which covers the body from the base of the neck to the feet. Ithar covers the body from the head to the feet. With Lifafah, the whole body is wrapped and then the upper and the lower ends are tied.