Chapter of Ghusl: Its Causes and Description - Death (Cause No.6)

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-Death obligates Ghusl. al-‘Uthaymeen explains that when a Muslim dies then it is becomes an obligation to perform Ghusl upon him. The evidence for this include:

-          The Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said about the person who fell of his riding animal and died, “Wash him with water and Sidr (lotus leaves)” [Reported al-Bukhaaree (1851) and Muslim (1206)]

Uthaymeen inserts that this shows a command and the origin of all commands is that it is Waajib to execute.

-          The Hadeeth of Umm ‘Attiyyah [may Allaah be Pleased her] that when her daughter passed away the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] commanded, “Wash her three times, or five, or seven, or more as much as necessary.” [al-Bukhaaree (1254) and Muslim (939)]

Some have objected to this Hadeeth and stated that the Prophet left the amount of washing up to the discretion of Umm Attiyyah – had it been a religious form of washing then it wouldn’t exceed three times.

In response we say that the Prophet started with three times, and this would be sufficient, however the exceeding amounts that were left to her discretion was due to what was necessary in removing dirt.

Either way, the first Hadeeth suffices as proof for its obligation.

A -  Making Ghusl over an aborted or a miscarried child carries the same ruling IF the soul had been blown into the fetus. The soul is blown into the child after four months or 120 days. This is based on the Hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood [may Allaah be Pleased with him] that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] described human development and said that the fetus goes through three forty day stages; forty days as a Nutfah (fluid), forty days as a ‘Alaqah (a leech-like creature or a s blood-clot) and forty days as a Mudghah (a formed creation). After these 120 days an angel is sent and it records four: its provisions, its life-span, its deeds and whether it will be happy or wretched. Then the soul is breathed into the fetus. [Reported by al-Bukhaaree (6594) and Muslim (2643)]