What is the religious ruling concerning the quality and cost of a deceased person's burial shroud (kafan)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Funerals
Primary text
It is recommended to improve the quality of the deceased's shroud based on the Hadith where the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded his companions to improve the shroud of their brother. It is particularly recommended to shroud the deceased in white garments, citing the command to wear white as they are purer and better, and to use them for shrouding the dead. The shroud of the Prophet, peace be upon him, consisted of three layers of Sahuli cloth. If the heirs dispute the shroud, it is allocated according to the deceased's status. If the deceased was wealthy (musir), the shroud should be fine and good, mirroring what the person used to wear in life. If of lesser means, it should be according to that status. The statement specifying a cost boundary (e.g., thirty or fifty dirhams) is not definitive but rather an approximation based on the typical cost of good and average shrouds in that time.
Supporting text
It is recommended that the shroud be new, unless the deceased left a specific bequest otherwise. This is supported by the statement of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, who preferred his two garments for himself, stating the living need new clothes more than the dead, as his old clothes were meant for use and burial dirt. Ibn Aqil favored using a worn-out garment (khali') based on this narration, but the view favoring new garments is preferred due to the general command of the Prophet and the practice of his Companions.