A murabbi from Germany wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and asked whether a menstruating woman was permitted to perform the ghusl of a deceased woman. Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 15 September 2021, provided the following reply to his question:
“There seems to be no explicit prohibition in the Holy Quran or the Hadith preventing a man in the state of janabah or a menstruating woman from performing the ghusl [washing] of a dead body. However, there is a difference of opinion regarding this matter among the companions and their followers [tabi‘un] as well as among the Islamic jurists. Some are its proponents and they base their argument on the following statement of the Holy Prophetsa:
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمَ لَيْسَ بِنَجَسٍ
“‘Indeed, a Muslim is not impure [najas].’ (As-Sunan Al-Kubra by Imam Al-Bayhaqi, Kitab al-Jana’iz, Bab man lam yara al-ghusla min ghasli l-mayyit)
“Therefore, according to them, there is no problem with a man in the state of janabah or a menstruating woman washing a dead body.
“According to a second group of people, it is makruh for men in the state of janabah or menstruating women to wash a dead body.
“A third opinion is that if there is a compelling situation and there is no other person present to perform the ghusl for the deceased except a man in the state of janabah or a menstruating woman, then under such compelling circumstances, a man in the state of janabah or a menstruating woman can wash the dead body, but under normal circumstances, they should not do so.
“I too, am of the view that, under normal circumstances, the deceased should not be washed by a man in the state of janabah or a menstruating woman, but if no one else is present, there is no issue with any of them performing this duty. […]”