As for the conditions and manners of buying a shroud, there are certain recommendations in our jurisprudential sources some of which we shall mention as under:
1. It is recommended that the shroud be clean and free of any problem or doubt.[1] As stated in a narration, Sindi bin Shahak, who had been assigned by Harun al-Rashid to watch over Imam Kazem in prison, said: When his (Imam Kazem’s) time of death neared, I asked him to allow me to shroud you [i.e. let me bear the cost of the shroud and burial]. 
“We are a family whose Hajj, wives’ dowry and shrouds are from our cleanest properties.”[2]
2. It is recommended that the shroud be from white cotton.[3] Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, has been quoted as having narrated from the Holy Prophet (a.s.): “No color is better than white for dress; wear white dress and shroud your dead ones with it.”[4] Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said: “Cloth made of wild flax (linen) is typical of Banu Israel with which they shroud (their dead bodies) and cloth made of cotton is typical of the Ummah (people) of Muhammad (pbuh).”[5]
3. The shroud should not be a usurped property; otherwise it is haram to shroud a dead body with it and it will not suffice.[6] That is because of a consensus existing among jurisprudents and verses[7] as well as traditions[8] which generally forbid from using or appropriating others’ properties without their permission and consent.[9]
4. The shroud must not be made of pure silk.[10] However, if its non-silk material is more than the silk in it, there is no problem. Imam Hadi (a.s.) was asked about certain garments that were made in Basra and were like special Yamani cloth (which was made of silk and cotton): “Is it permissible to use it for shrouding the dead?”
Imam Hadi (a.s) said: “If the cotton used in it is more than silk, there is no problem.”[11]

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