A Critical Examination of Muhammad’s Death Rites in Relation to Islamic Normative Practice

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute

Islam defines itself as a religion grounded in the teachings, actions, and example (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad. For Muslims, Muhammad functions as the normative model (al-uswah al-hasanah) whose life and conduct provide the standard for imitation. Consequently, the consistency between Muhammad’s own life—and particularly his death—and the ritual obligations Islam prescribes is an important subject of theological inquiry.

This article critically evaluates three areas traditionally associated with Islamic ritual and prophetic exemplariness: circumcision, post-mortem bodily procedures, and burial in a shroud. The aim is to assess whether Muhammad’s death adhered to Islamic norms and, by extension, whether his example can be considered universally prescriptive within Islam.

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1. The Question of Circumcision

Circumcision (khitān) is widely practiced within Muslim communities and is often regarded as a sign of religious identity. However, the Qur’an contains no explicit statement affirming that Muhammad himself was circumcised, nor does it mandate circumcision as a divine command. Islamic sources differ significantly on this matter, and no universally accepted textual proof exists to confirm that Muhammad underwent the procedure.

Given Muhammad’s central role as a model for the Muslim community, the absence of clear evidence raises an important theological question: Can an act be considered universally obligatory for Muslims if it was not demonstrably performed by Muhammad himself?

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2. Post-Mortem Procedures: The Issue of Bodily Expression

Islamic jurisprudence identifies specific rites for handling the body of a deceased Muslim. Among these practices—derived from fiqh literature—is the expectation that the body be washed and that the abdomen be gently pressed to expel any remaining waste. This procedure is considered necessary to ensure ritual purity before burial.

Sources describing the final illness and death of Muhammad do not indicate that this procedure was applied to his body. If every Muslim corpse must undergo such ritual preparation, the absence of this practice in the Prophet’s own case presents a theological inconsistency within Islamic ritual law.
It raises the broader question of whether Islamic funerary requirements are universally binding, or whether prophetic exemption exists without explicit scriptural justification.

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3. Burial in a Shroud: Deviations from Normative Islamic Practice

Islamic funeral rites specify that a deceased Muslim must be:

1. Washed

2. Wrapped in a funerary shroud (kafan)

3. Perfumed three times

4. Buried after the funeral prayer

These rites are presented as religious obligations upon the Muslim community. Exceptions only apply to specific cases—such as an individual who dies while in a state of ihram during pilgrimage, who must not be perfumed or have the head covered, as indicated in authentic reports narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās and recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

However, reports describing Muhammad’s own burial practices indicate irregularities regarding the application of the shroud and the perfuming process. These deviations from standard Islamic funerary prescriptions invite further examination regarding prophetic exemplary status and the construction of Islamic ritual norms.

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Conclusion: Reconsidering the Claim of Prophetic Exemplarity

Islamic theology presents Muhammad as the ideal model for conduct, belief, and practice. Yet the inconsistencies between:

• the ritual expectations placed upon ordinary Muslims, and

• the recorded circumstances of Muhammad’s own death and burial

raise legitimate academic questions about the coherence of prophetic exemplariness within Islamic doctrine.

If Muhammad was neither demonstrably circumcised, nor subjected to standard Islamic post-mortem procedures, nor buried strictly in accordance with Islamic funerary laws, then the claim that he serves as the comprehensive normative model requires reevaluation.

This analysis does not seek to undermine personal faith commitments, but to engage critically with the internal logic of Islamic ritual practice and its theological foundations.

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