Hadith: He who washes a dead person and conceals what he sees, Allah will grant him forgiveness forty times

عن أبي رافع رضي الله عنه مرفوعاً: «من غسَّل ميتاً فكتم عليه، غفر الله له أربعين مرة».
[صحيح] - [رواه الحاكم والبيهقي والطبراني]

Abu Rāfi‘(may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He who washes a dead person and conceals what he sees, Allah will grant him forgiveness forty times.''
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bayhaqi]

Explanation

This Hadīth clarifies the virtue of the one who washes a deceased person and conceals what he sees of defects. Such defects are of two types: the first are related to the deceased's state, and the second to his body. The first type, for example, is if he sees that the face of the deceased has turned dark and ugly, which might be a sign of a bad ending for that person, we ask Allah safety from this situation. In this case, it is not permissible for him to mention this to others because this is considered revealing the defects of the deceased who has already gone to meet his Lord, and Allah will give him what he deserves of justice or grace. The second type is, for example, seeing a physical defect in the deceased's back or other parts of his body that he used to hide from people in his life. So, the one who conceals such defects is granted the enormous reward of forty counts of forgiveness.