Section : Burial is a Collective Obligation. There is a consensus that burying a dead body and covering it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). If some Muslims bury the dead body, it would absolve the rest of them from…
Section : Burial at Sunrise, at Midday, or at Sunset. There is a consensus that a body may be buried during any of these three times whenever there is danger of it decomposing otherwise. If there is no such danger,…
Section : Digging a Deep Grave is Desirable. The purpose of burial is to hide the body in a pit in order to prevent its stench from fouling the atmosphere, and to save it from being eaten by various beasts…
Section : A Lahd is Better than an Ordinary Grave. Lahd is a crevice on the side of a grave facing the qiblah, which is covered with unburnt bricks like a house with a roof. A regular grave, on the…
Section : Placing a Body in the Grave. It is sunnah to place a body in the grave with its feet first, if this is possible and can be done easily. This is based on a hadith reported by Abu…
Section : Placing the Body Facing the Qiblah, Praying for the Deceased, and Loosening the Shroud. The practice of the learned ones has been to place the body on its right side facing the qiblah. The person placing the body…
Section : Placing Clothes in the Grave is Disliked. The majority of jurists dislike the idea of placing a garment, a pillow, or the like for the deceased in the grave. Ibn Hazm, however, sees nothing wrong in placing a…
Section : Throwing Three Handfuls of Soil over the Grave. It is desirable to encourage those attending the burial to throw three handfuls of soil over the grave from the head of the body. This is based on a hadith…
Section : Praying for the Deceased After its Burial. After the burial, it is desirable to pray for forgiveness of the deceased and acceptance (of his conduct by Allah), because at this time he is being questioned about his life.…
Section : Prompting the Deceased After the Burial. Ash-Shafi’i and some other scholars prefer that a deceased (A deceased if he or she is an adult, but not in the case of a child) be “prompted” after the burial. This…
Section : The Sunnah Concerning Graveyards. The sunnah is to raise the grave at least one hand above the ground so it is known that it is a grave. It is forbidden to raise it more than that. This is…
Section : Making Humps over Graves and Flattening Them. Jurists agree that it is permissible either to make a little hump over the grave or to flatten it. At-Tabari said: “I dislike it for a grave to be prepared in…
Section : Placing a Distinguishing Mark on a Grave. It is permissible to place a mark, such as a stone or a piece of wood, over a grave so that it can be recognized. This is based on a hadith…
Section : Taking Off Shoes in Cemeteries. Most scholars are of the opinion that it is permissible to wear shoes in a cemetery. Jarir ibn Hazim said: “I saw al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin walking with their shoes on in a…
Section : The Prohibition against Covering Graves. Covering graves or tombs is not permissible, because this involves unnecessary expense for an invalid cause, and may mislead the common man. ‘Aishah reported: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, left on a…