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It is
preferable that the no. of Kafan (shrouding) is odd. 3 – 5 – 7,
nothing is specific. But the sunnat is that the kafan comprises of 3
pieces of cloth. The cloth should be white and concealing.
There
are 3 original pieces in the kafan: -
1)
Lifafa (Sheet)
2) Qamis
(Shirt) and
3) Izar
(Lungi for Men and Theparo for Women)
Besides
these 3 the following clothes are also to be included in the kafan,
but there are not included in the count.
1)
Emamat – Paghri (Turban) for men. If the deceased is a boy who's
misak is not done, then a handkerchief / scarf should be tied instead.
2)
Khemaar – Orhna / Dupatta for women and Maqna (a band to tie on the
head)
3)
Langoat – (Lungi type) for men and women.
After
the bath, the corpse should be wiped with a clean cloth. Another clean
and dry cloth should be put over the aurat and the cloth that covered
it during the bath should be gently removed. To tie the langoat, the
cloth should extend from the navel to the knees in breadth and should
have enough length to be easily wrapped around the body. Cotton wool
should be spread on this cloth and Hanoot applied on it and the cloth
is wrapped and tied like a lungi on both his Haqawain (Hip's) . The
cotton wool should be placed on the aurat and beneath the Maqadat
(place of excretion). The langoat should be tied firmly. Before the
kafan clothes are put on they should be spread out and folded and
gently slipped under the corpse.
(Regarding
the Kafan Cloth
There is
no fixed quantity for the kafan cloth. At the least the cloth should
be enough to cover the body. It is generally best to take a cloth with
60" breadth, which is approximately enough for all.
For the
bath and kafan both it is preferred if totally 10 yards of 60"
breadth cloth is used. From this, cloth for the bath and kafan can be
cut accordingly: -
For Bath
To place
on the corpse's aurat during the bath 60 x 3/4 yard
To place
on the corpse's aurat after wiping the body 60 x 3/4 yard
To wrap
around the hand of the person giving the bath 60 x 1/4 yard
Total 60
x 1 3/4 yard
For
Kafan
For the
Lifafa 60 x 3 yards
For the
Langoat 60 x 3/4 yards
For the
Izar 45 x 2 yards
For the
Qamis 60 x 2 1/2 yard
Total 60
x 8 1/4 yards
Out of
the extra 15 x 2 yards cloth of the lungi, 10 x 2 yards should be used
for the corpse's paghri and of the remaining pieces tie – bands for
the kafan can be made.
If the
corpse is a woman, 60 x 2 yards cloth extra (besides the 10 yards)
should be taken for her Orhni.
Method
of Spreading the Kafan
First
the lifafa is spread. Then the Qamis is spread on top of it. The Qamis
cloth is to be folded in half, length wise and a cut made at the fold
to enable the corpse's head to go through it. Half of the Qamis is
spread over the lifafa and the other half is left folded near the
upper side of the corpse. After that the lungi should be spread,
positioning it such that it extends from the navel to just above the
ankles.
Method
of Putting on the Qamis
The half
of the Qamis which was spread on the lifafa will stay under the
corpse. The upper half is now put on the corpse's body and the head
inserted through the cut.)
After
the corpse is placed on the kafan, hanoot is to be applied. Hanoot
implies Kaphur (Camphor), Sukhar (Sandalwood) or similar fragrant
things. Generally hanoot is applied filled in cotton wool. The parts
of the body which come in contact with the Sajda are to be fragranced
wit hanoot. They are: -
· The
forhead
· The
nose
· Both
knees
· Upper
part of both feet
· Palms
While
applying the hanoot (filled in cotton wool) on the feet and palm, the
cotton should be pushed between the toes and the fingers to prevent it
from slipping away. The hanoot should be inserted between the thumb
and index finger of both hands and on the elbows too. Besides this,
the hanoot cotton is to be kept on the corpse's: -
· Head
· In
both ears
· On
both eyes
· On
the mouth
· The
beard
· The
chest
· The
navel
·
Beneath the Faraj (Reproductive Organs)
·
Beneath the armpits
·
Between the thighs
·
Between the shins and
·
Between the 2 feet.
After
this the corpse is made to wear the izar from the navel to above the
ankles by wrapping it and then the Qamis is put on.
If a man
then a paghri is to be tied as follows: - one end of the cloth is
taken, after leaving a bit, it is placed on the corpse's head from
somewhere in the middle. Then it is taken from beneath the beard. The
end is tucked in after completely wrapping the cloth. The other end,
the left side, is pulled to lengthen and placed on the chest with the
kafan.
If the
corpse is a woman, the head is covered with an Orni and a Maqna (Head
band) is tied.
Finally
the corpse is wrapped in the lifafa.
Bukhur
can be done in the place where the bath and kafan is taken place. But
the bukhur should not be done to the corpse neither should it or
Agarbatti (Incense sticks) be taken along with the Janaza.
A person
who expires in the state of Ehram should not be perfumed / fragranced.
Maulana
Ali (a.s) says: - the kafan is the first thing to be deducted from
the wealth of the dead. After that his debts are to paid off and only
the remaining is to be utilized in executing his will and in
distributing among his heirs. Kafan – here implies all the expense
related to the kafan.
By
saying that- "the kafan is the first thing to be deducted from
the wealth of the dead" – is meant to indicate that only if the
money for the kafan is not available it should thus be taken out. It
does not mean that, for every person his kafan should be deducted from
his wealth.
Before
the corpse is wrapped in the lifafa the Big Ruqa Chithi is kept open
on the chest and the Small Ruqa Chithi is given in the right hand.
In both
the Ruqa Chithi the Amil ul Moze (Head representative of Aqa Maula (tus)
or the one with the raza of Aqa Maula (tus) should be requested to
inscribe Bis millah ir rahman ir rahim and in the Small Ruqa Chithi
the Dai (tus) , his Mazoon and Mukasir's names are also to be written.
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