Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salam Aliqoum
i just want to ask regarding before my death i can buy kafan for my self by my cost and how long or how big should the clothes must be
Thank you 

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Answer:

Can one buy a kafan shroud

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: i just want to ask regarding before my death i can buy kafan for my self by my cost

Although it is the right of a deceased believer that their surviving and believing heirs or the believing Ummah at large give them an honorable burial, if one wishes to purchase their own burial shroud (kafan) before their death, there is absolutely no restriction in Shariah and no harm in doing so.

Your Question: ….and how long or how big should the clothes must be
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.33a

Topic: Preferable Practices in Shrouding

In shrouding, the following practices are recommended and should be observed while preparing a body for burial.

1. The shroud should be nice, clean, and large enough to cover the entire body. This is based on a narration of Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi from Abu Qatadah that the Prophet (saws) said: "If one of you is a guardian to his deceased brother, he should give him the best shroud he can."

2. A shroud should be white, as it is recorded by Ahmad, Abu Daw'ud, and Tirmidhi on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that the Prophet (saws) said: "Wear white clothes, for these are your best clothes, and enshroud your dead in them."

3. The shroud should be three wraps for a man and five wraps for a woman, in light of what is narrated by Bukhari and Muslim from 'Aishah who said: "The Messenger of Allah (saws) was wrapped in three pieces of new white sheets of cloth from Yemen, without a shirt or a turban."

One or two wraps may suffice if nothing else is available, but three wraps is preferable for a deceased male and five wraps for a deceased female, if one can afford it. This is the opinion of Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq.

In light of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), it is preferable that the burial shroud of the believers be white in color, and long enough to wrap the body of the deceased male three times or the deceased female five times.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan