Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Issues Related to Funeral Prayer, p. 131Question
In our area, it is common to place the deceased in the grave lying flat on the back and then turn the neck so the face faces the Qiblah. However, I read in Fatāwā Islāmiyyah (Urdu translation, Vol. 2, Dārussalām print) that Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله stated the deceased should be buried on the right side facing the Qiblah. Likewise, in Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz (Urdu translation, p. 183, issue no. 152), it is written that the deceased should be placed on the right side in the grave.
Respected Shaykh, please clarify the correct ruling on this matter.
(Muhammad Ramaḍān Salafī, ʿĀrif Wala)
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
Ijmāʿ (Consensus) of the Muslim Ummah
There is unanimous agreement among the Muslims that the face of the deceased in the grave should be towards the Qiblah.
(al-Muḥallā by Ibn Ḥazm, Vol. 5, p. 173, issue 615; Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz by al-Albānī, p. 51, para. 104)
Supporting Evidences from Aḥādīth
① Hadith:
"قِبْلَتكُمْ أَحْيَاءً وَأَمْوَاتًا"
“Your Qiblah for both your living and your deceased.”
(Abū Dāwūd: 2875, al-Nasāʾī: 4017, al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim: 359, 459)
This chain is weak due to the ʿanʿanah of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr. Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī (Vol. 3, p. 409) contains weak supporting narrations; thus, overall, the Hadith remains weak.
② Bequest of al-Barāʾ ibn Maʿrūr رضي الله عنه
He instructed that his body be placed facing the Qiblah.
(al-Awsaṭ by Ibn al-Mundhir: 3205; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī, Vol. 3, p. 384; al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim, pp. 353–354, Hadith 1305)
This is narrated by Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Abī Qatādah from his father, ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Qatādah — both authenticated by Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and others.
In al-Mustadrak, it is attributed to Abū Qatādah رضي الله عنه, but Naṣb al-Rāyah (Vol. 2, p. 252) and Ithāf al-Mahrah (Vol. 4, Hadith 4054) mention this addition as an error. (See: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Vol. 3, p. 153, Hadith 689)
Objections raised due to the narrator Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād are invalid. However, as the report is mursal, it is considered weak in chain, with a similar weak mursal support in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (Vol. 3, p. 384).
Practice of the Tābiʿīn and Imāms
- Imām al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله:
He preferred that a dying person be turned to face the Qiblah.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, Vol. 3, p. 239, Hadith 10872 – Ṣaḥīḥ chain) - Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله:
He said:
“If the side of the deceased is placed facing the Qiblah, it is better. And (Abū Dāwūd رحمه الله said
I think he also said: If they wish, they may lay the deceased on the back and turn the face towards the Qiblah.”(Masāʾil Abī Dāwūd, p. 138)
Summary
❀ Best method: As in Arab lands — lay the deceased on the right side in the grave with the face towards the Qiblah.
❀ Permissible alternative: As practiced in some places — lay the deceased on the back and turn only the face towards the Qiblah.
Both are valid according to Sharīʿah.
(5 April 2011)ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
