Bulugh al-Maram — Hadith #52301

On the authority of Aisha, may God be pleased with her, she said: {When they wanted to wash the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, they said: By God, we do not know whether to undress the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, as we undress our dead, or not?…} The hadith was narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud. 1.1 - Hasan (good). Narrated by Ahmad (6/267) and Abu Dawud (3141), and its wording is: On the authority of Aisha, may God be pleased with her, she said: When they wanted to wash the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, they said: By God, we do not know whether to undress the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, as we undress our dead, or not Should we wash him while he is still clothed? When they disagreed, God caused them to fall asleep until every man's chin rested on his chest. Then a voice spoke to them from a direction within the house, though they did not know who it was: "Wash the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he is still clothed." So they went to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and washed him while he was wearing his shirt, pouring water over the shirt and rubbing him with the shirt, without using their hands. Aisha used to say: "If I had known then what I know now, only his wives would have washed him."