Is It Permissible To Uncover And Look At The Deceased Person’s Face After Having Been Washed And Enshrouded?

Is it permissible to uncover and look at the deceased person’s face after having been washed and enshrouded?

It is permissible for the relatives and friends of a corpse to uncover and look at the corpse’s face or kiss him/her for the last time after it is washed and enshrouded. Because it is known that Prophet Muhammad (saw) did so when Uthman ibn Maz’un (ra) and the Prophet’s son Ibrahim died (Abu Dawud, Janaiz, 40). Likewise, it is stated in hadith books that when Prophet Muhammad (saw) passed away, Abu Bakr (ra) uncovered his face, kissed him on the face between his eyebrows with respect, and started to cry.

It is makruh for non-mahram to look at a deceased woman’s face unless there is a reason that necessitates it although it is permissible for women and mahram men to look at it. It is permissible for women to look at a deceased man’s face (Kasani, Bada’i, I, 304-305; Shirbini, Mughni al-muhtaj, I, 531-532).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA