Narrated Hisham's father: Aisha said, "I went to Abu Bakr (during his fatal illness) and he asked me, 'In how many garments was the Prophet ﷺ shrouded?' She replied, 'In three Suhuliya pieces of white cloth of cotton, and there was neither a shirt nor a turban among them'. Abu Bakr further asked her, 'On which day did the Prophet die?' She replied, 'He died on Monday'. He asked, 'What is today?' She replied, 'Today is Monday'. He added, 'I hope I shall die sometime between this morning and tonight'. Then he looked at a garment that he was wearing during his illness and it had some stains of saffron. Then he said, 'Wash this garment of mine and add two more garments and shroud me in them'. I said, 'This is worn out'. He said, 'A living person has more right to wear new clothes than a dead one; the shroud is only for the body's pus'. He did not die till it was the night of Tuesday and was buried before the morning".
This hadith teaches us about respecting those who have passed away by providing them with proper burial rites such as shrouding them in clean clothes as well as respecting those who are alive by providing them with new clothes instead of worn out ones even if they are no longer living in this world anymore. It also teaches us about being prepared for our own deaths by having faith in God’s will while still hoping for more time here on earth if possible so we can make use of our time wisely until we meet Him one day soon InshaAllah!
