Yahya (RA) related to me from Malik (RA) that Yahya ibn Said (RA) that he had heard that when Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA) was ill he asked A’isha (RA), “How many shrouds did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, have?” and she replied, “Three pure white cotton garments.” Abu Bakr said, “Take this garment (a garment he was wearing on which red clay or saffron had fallen) and wash it. Then shroud me in it with two other garments.” A’isha said, “Why’s that?”, and Abu Bakr replied, “The living have greater need of the new than the dead. This is only for the body fluids that come out as the body decays.”
