Reward for Washing a Corpse

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah shall pardon forty capital sins of a man who bathes a corpse and conceals the sins of the dead person; and the man who lowers the corpse in the grave, provides as it were, a home to the deceased to live in until the Day of Doom.” [Tabaraani]

In other words, we should rush to take the opportunity to bathe a deceased Muslim or lower him/her into their grave. Both actions carry a lot of reward. We should educate ourselves in advance on the proper method of washing a Muslim’s corpse and lowering him/her into the grave, so that we can fully partake of the reward.

These deeds also serve to remind us of the future that we should be preparing ourselves for.

It is also recommended to keep silent about the demerits of the deceased and conceal their sins as we would like our sins to remain concealed.