Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Aslaam brother, i have a question to ask from a friend, if a mans wife dies while her husband is with her, if after the body has been washed and wrapped is the husband able to look at his dead wifes face before the body is buried, and will the nikkah be broken as soon as the woman dies.

I would be grateful for your answer and hope that you can reply to it as soon as possible thank you.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can husband look at wife’s face?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The majority of scholars in Islam consider it permissible in light of the narration by Ad-Daraqutni and Al-Baihaqi, that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) washed the body of Hadrat Fatimah (r.a.) on her death. This is also supported by a hadith that the Prophet (saws) said to his wife Hadrat Aishah (r.a.): "If you die before me, I will myself wash you and enshroud you." Ibn Majah recorded this hadith.

There is absolutely no restriction if the husband wishes to see the face of his deceased wife before her burial. It is an absolute misconception that the ‘nikaah’ is broken as soon as the woman dies; the death of the woman has absolutely no bearings on the validity of her nikaah to her husband.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan