Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Can a husband bathe his deceased wife? Can a wife bathe her deceased husband?

· 15 Safar 1434 AH1 min readFatwa 23733English

Question

can a wife touch ( bathe, kiss. hug etc ) her husband after he has passed away ?

can a man do the same ?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

It is permissible for the wife to bathe her deceased husband. Contrary to this, it is not permissible for the husband to bathe his deceased wife. It is only permissible for him to see her without physically touching her. [1]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Abdul Hannan Nizami,
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[1]فإنه لا يغسل زوجته" وكذا لا يمسها ولا يمنع من النظر إليها (حاشية الطحطاوي على مراقي الفلاح، ص572، المتوفي سنة1231، دار الكتب العلمية)

وَيَجُوزُ لِلْمَرْأَةِ أَنْ تُغَسِّلَ زَوْجَهَا.... وَأَمَّا هو فَلَا يُغَسِّلُهَا عِنْدَنَا....إذَا كان لِلْمَرْأَةِ مَحْرَمٌ يُيَمِّمُهَا بِالْيَدِ وَأَمَّا الْأَجْنَبِيُّ فَبِخِرْقَةٍ على يَدِهِ وَيَغُضُّ بَصَرَهُ عن ذِرَاعَيْهَا وَكَذَا الرَّجُلُ في امْرَأَتِهِ إلَّا في غَضِّ الْبَصَرِ (الفتاوى الهندية، ج1ص160، دار الفكر)

بِخِلَافِ مَا إذَا مَاتَتْ الْمَرْأَةُ حَيْثُ لَا يُغَسِّلُهَا الزَّوْجُ (بدائع الصنائع في ترتيب الشرائع، ج1ص304، المتوفي سنة587،دار الكتب العلمية)

Answered by
Abdul Hannan Nizami
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/23733
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-23733

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