Explanation of Burial
Importance of Burial:
❀The burial of the deceased is part of human nature. At first, upon the death of a person, Allah Almighty taught the method of burial as follows:
فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ غُرَابًا يَبْحَثُ فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيُرِيَهُ كَيْفَ يُوَارِي سَوْءَةَ أَخِيهِ
“So Allah sent a crow scratching the ground to show him how to hide the disgrace of his brother.”
❀It is obligatory for a Muslim to dig a grave and bury the deceased. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said regarding the martyrs of Uhud:
ادفنوهم فى دمائهم
“Burial them along with their blood.”
❀The body of a disbeliever should also be buried in the earth. Sayyiduna Abu Talhah رضي الله عنه said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered on the day of Badr that twenty-four Quraysh chiefs be thrown into one of the filthy and impure wells of Badr.”
Virtue of the Grave Digger:
❀ The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
من حفر له فأجنه أجره عليه كأجر مسكن أسكنه إياه إلىٰ يوم القيامة
“Whoever digs a grave for the deceased and buries him in it, then for him is a reward as if he has provided a residence for someone until the Day of Resurrection.”
Prohibited Times for Burial:
❀ Burial is not permissible during the times when funeral prayer is prohibited.
❀ Besides these times, burial should also be avoided at night, except in cases of necessity.
Where should burial be done?
❀The better and preferred practice is to bury the deceased in their nearby cemetery; without a valid Shariah excuse, transferring them to another place should be avoided. Sayyiduna Jabir رضي الله عنه says:
“We were bringing the martyrs of Uhud (to be buried in Naqee’) when the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم‘s caller came and said: The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم commands you to bury the martyrs in the places where they were killed. So we took them back.”
❀When the body of Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهما was brought from Abyssinia, Sayyida Aisha رضي الله عنها said: May Allah have mercy on my brother; my greatest sorrow is that he was not buried at the place of his death.
❀Any deceased should be buried in a common cemetery; there is no proof for burying in a special place, and it is contrary to Sunnah and a major cause of shirk (polytheism). It was only the special characteristic of the Prophets, peace be upon them, that they were buried where they passed away. The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:
ما قبض الله نبيا إلا فى الموضع الذى يحب أن يدفن فيه
“Allah Almighty causes the Prophets to die where He wishes their burial to be.”
❀Martyrs should be buried at the place of their martyrdom, as has passed in the narration of Sayyiduna Jabir رضي الله عنه, meaning burial outside the cemetery is a special characteristic of the Prophets and martyrs. Therefore, it is not permissible to make a grave outside the cemetery by deriving evidence from them.
❀Muslims and disbelievers should be buried in separate cemeteries. Sayyiduna Basheer bin Mu’adh رضي الله عنه narrates from the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم:
“I was walking with the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم when he passed by the cemetery of the polytheists and then passed by the cemetery of the Muslims.”
Thus, it is established that during the Prophetic era, Muslims and disbelievers had separate cemeteries.
Method of Making a Grave:
❀The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
احفروا وأعمقوا وأوسعوا وأحسنوا
“The grave should be made deep, spacious, wide, and clean.”
❀It is preferable to make a luhd (grave chamber). A luhd is a coffin-shaped rectangular pit dug, and inside it, a side grave is dug facing the Qibla, in which the deceased is placed.
❀If due to soft soil or any other reason it is difficult to make a luhd, then making a shiq (a split or cavity) is also permissible. A shiq is a coffin-shaped rectangular pit dug, and inside it, a smaller pit of the same shape is dug. In some areas, due to very soft soil, instead of a smaller pit, walls are built inside it so that the deceased can be placed inside and then sealed.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said about the condition of the Prophet Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, grave:
شق لحده رجل من الأنصار وهو الذى يشق لحود قبور الشهداء
“His, peace be upon him, luhd was dug by an Ansari companion who used to dig graves for martyrs.”
Funeral Etiquettes:
❀ If needed, a soft stone or soil can be placed under the head of the deceased as a pillow, as Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما placed a soft stone under the head of Sayyida Maimunah رضي الله عنها.
❀ It is also permissible to spread a cloth or similar in the grave, as Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما said that a red cloth was spread in the grave of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم.
Some say this was a special privilege of the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم, but to my knowledge, there is no evidence for this privilege. (And Allah knows best)
❀ Place the deceased into the grave from the side of the feet, meaning first the head is placed inside, then the feet. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Yazid al-Khatmi رضي الله عنه placed Al-Harith into the grave from the feet side and said: “This is the Sunnah.”
❀ Muhammad bin Sirin رحمه الله narrates that I was with Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه at a funeral, and when he spoke about placing the deceased in the grave, the deceased was placed into the grave from the feet side.
❀ Lay the deceased in the grave so that his face is towards the Qiblah, with his head to the right of the Qiblah and feet to the left; this has been the practice of the Muslims from the time of prophethood until today.
❀ The person placing the deceased in the grave should recite this supplication:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
“I place the deceased in the name of Allah and upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم (in the grave).”
❀ To close the mouth of the grave, raw bricks should be used. Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه made a will during his illness:
“Build a grave with a lidded chamber for me and place raw bricks over me as was done in the grave of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم.”
❀ All present at the grave should throw three handfuls of soil each. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrates:
“The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم led the funeral prayer for a person, then came to the grave and threw three handfuls of soil from the head side.”
❀ The grave should be raised one cubit above the ground so that it stands out and is not disrespected. Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah رضي الله عنه says:
“A lidded grave was made for the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم and raw bricks were placed on it, and his grave was raised one cubit above the ground.”
❀ The grave should be shaped like a camel’s hump. Sufyan bin Dinar al-Tammar رحمه الله said:
“I saw the grave of the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم and it was like a camel’s hump.”
❀ Sprinkle water on the grave so that the soil hardens. Allama Al-Albani رحمه الله recorded in Silsilat al-Sahihah, referencing a narration from Al-Tabarani al-Awsat, that the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم sprinkled water on the grave of his son Ibrahim.
❀ Placing a tombstone on the grave is not established from the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم or his companions; it is an innovation. However, placing stones or similar on it for identification is permissible. Mubalib bin Abdullah رحمه الله narrates that when Sayyiduna Uthman bin Maz’oon رضي الله عنه passed away and his funeral was brought and buried, the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ordered a man to bring a stone, but he could not lift it, so the Prophet himself stood up, lifted it, placed it near the head of the grave, and said: “(So that) I may recognize my brother’s grave through it and bury the rest of my family members with him.”
Praying after burial:
❀Everyone should pray for the forgiveness and steadfastness of the deceased. Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), after completing the burial, would stand by the grave and say: Pray for forgiveness and steadfastness for your brother, for indeed he is now being questioned.”
Reciting Surah Al-Baqarah after burial:
❀Some people recite the initial verses of Surah Al-Baqarah near the head side of the deceased and the last verses near the feet after burial. This is not correct because the narration used as evidence for this is very weak and unreliable.
Teaching the Kalima to the deceased after burial:
❀Some people place soil on the grave while instructing the deceased with the Kalima; this is not proven by any authentic hadith. The narration they use as evidence has been declared weak by Allama Baishami in Majma’ al-Zawa’id
, Ibn Qayyim in Zad al-Ma’ad
, San’ani in Subul al-Salam
, Nawawi in Al-Majmu’
, and Hafiz ‘Iraqi in Ihya’ al-Ulum
, and Allama Albani has labeled it as rejected in Silsilat al-Da’ifah
.
Their second argument is based on the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):
“Recite the Kalima to your dead.” لا إله إلا الله
This hadith is detailed in Sahih Ibn Hibban
, from which it is understood that the Kalima should be recited to a person in the state of dying, not after burial.
Among the Hanafi scholars, Allama Ala al-Din al-Kasani Hanafi in Bada’i’ al-Sana’i’
, Allama Hanafi in Al-Binaya fi Sharh al-Hidaya
, and Fatawa Alamgiri
have preferred this view.
Who will bury the woman?
❀A woman’s body should be lowered into the grave by men, not by women.
❀It is also permissible for a woman’s husband to lower her into the grave. Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) himself buried his wife Sayyida Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her).
❀A woman’s body can also be lowered into the grave by a non-mahram, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed when a non-mahram lowered his daughter into the grave.
Lighting a lamp in the grave:
❀If the night is dark, it is permissible to take a lamp or similar light source inside the grave for illumination.
Collective graves for one family:
It is permissible to make collective graves for members of one family inside a cemetery. After the burial of Uthman bin Maz’oon, may Allah be pleased with him, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, placed a stone at the head of the grave and said:
“This is so that I may recognize my brother’s grave and bury the deceased of my family with him.”
Collective Burial:
❀If there are many deceased, more people can be buried in one grave. In this case, the one who knows more of the Qur’an will be placed first in the grave facing the Qiblah. Sayyiduna Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
“The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to gather two martyrs of Uhud together, then ask: Who among them knows more of the Qur’an? When one was pointed out, he was placed first in the grave (facing the Qiblah).”
Exhumation:
❀A deceased person can be taken out of the grave under severe necessity. Sayyiduna Jabir رضي الله عنه states:
“The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم came to the grave of Abdullah bin Abi while he had been placed in the grave, so the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ordered him to be taken out, then placed him on his knee, put his blessed saliva in his mouth, and clothed him in his shirt.”
And in the next narration, Sayyiduna Jabir رضي الله عنه says:
“My father was buried together with another person (due to the large number of martyrs in Uhud), and I did not like it in my heart, so I took my father out (after six months) and buried him alone in another grave.”
It is established that a deceased person can be taken out of the grave due to necessity, but doing so without necessity is not correct.
