The Correct Burial Location for the Deceased: 4 Sharʿī Evidences
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 517
Our town is well known due to the presence of saints and spiritual leaders. Many of their followers bring their deceased from distant towns, bypassing local graveyards, and insist on burying them here. They even prepare multiple empty graves in advance for future use. Is this practice permissible in light of Sharīʿah?
(Riyāḍ Aḥmad, Tāunsah Sharīf)
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
According to the Sunnah, a deceased person should be buried in the same place where they passed away, and not transported to distant locations out of veneration for specific sites.
Narrated by Jābir (رضي الله عنه):
“On the day of Uḥud, we started carrying the bodies of the martyrs to bury them in Baqīʿ. A caller then announced: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commands that the slain be buried at the place where they fell.’”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3165; al-Tirmidhī: 1717 – Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ; al-Nasāʾī 4/79; Ibn Mājah: 1516
Authentication:
– Declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn al-Jārūd (553), Ibn Ḥibbān (774, 775), and Ibn Khuzaymah.
– The narrator Nabīḥ al-Ghazzī is thiqqah (trustworthy).
Also see: Kutub al-Rijāl; Nīl al-Maqṣūd 1533
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) said:
“If I had been present, I would have buried ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (her brother) where he passed away.”
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1055; Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 3/517, Ḥadīth 6535 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ
✔ This indicates the preferred Sharʿī practice is not to transport the deceased elsewhere, even for noble reasons.
✔ The Companions and early Muslims did not prepare graves in advance for themselves or others far away from where they lived or died.
✔ This innovation stems from exaggerated veneration of certain lands or personalities, which contradicts the essence of Islamic burial simplicity.
See also: Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī, Vol. 4, p. 57
✔ The Prophet ﷺ encouraged hastening the burial without unnecessary delay.
✔ Transporting a corpse over long distances and preparing symbolic graves violates this instruction and introduces cultural customs with no Sharʿī basis.
It is not permissible to transport the deceased to faraway places merely due to reverence for certain graveyards or saints.
Preparing multiple symbolic graves for future use is also not established in the Sharīʿah.
The correct method is to bury the deceased where they pass away, following the Prophet’s ﷺ guidance and the practice of the righteous predecessors.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 517
❖ Question
Our town is well known due to the presence of saints and spiritual leaders. Many of their followers bring their deceased from distant towns, bypassing local graveyards, and insist on burying them here. They even prepare multiple empty graves in advance for future use. Is this practice permissible in light of Sharīʿah?
(Riyāḍ Aḥmad, Tāunsah Sharīf)
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
❖ Sunnah-Based Burial Method: Where Should the Deceased Be Buried?
According to the Sunnah, a deceased person should be buried in the same place where they passed away, and not transported to distant locations out of veneration for specific sites.
✦ ① Instruction of the Prophet ﷺ Regarding Martyrs
Narrated by Jābir (رضي الله عنه):“On the day of Uḥud, we started carrying the bodies of the martyrs to bury them in Baqīʿ. A caller then announced: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commands that the slain be buried at the place where they fell.’”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3165; al-Tirmidhī: 1717 – Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ; al-Nasāʾī 4/79; Ibn Mājah: 1516 Authentication:– Declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn al-Jārūd (553), Ibn Ḥibbān (774, 775), and Ibn Khuzaymah.
– The narrator Nabīḥ al-Ghazzī is thiqqah (trustworthy).
Also see: Kutub al-Rijāl; Nīl al-Maqṣūd 1533✦ ② Practice of Umm al-Muʾminīn ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها)
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) said:“If I had been present, I would have buried ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (her brother) where he passed away.”
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1055; Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 3/517, Ḥadīth 6535 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ✔ This indicates the preferred Sharʿī practice is not to transport the deceased elsewhere, even for noble reasons.
✦ ③ Absence of Practice Among the Salaf
✔ The Companions and early Muslims did not prepare graves in advance for themselves or others far away from where they lived or died.
✔ This innovation stems from exaggerated veneration of certain lands or personalities, which contradicts the essence of Islamic burial simplicity.
See also: Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī, Vol. 4, p. 57✦ ④ Sharʿī Objective: Respecting Qadar & Burial Promptness
✔ The Prophet ﷺ encouraged hastening the burial without unnecessary delay.
✔ Transporting a corpse over long distances and preparing symbolic graves violates this instruction and introduces cultural customs with no Sharʿī basis.
Conclusion:
It is not permissible to transport the deceased to faraway places merely due to reverence for certain graveyards or saints. Preparing multiple symbolic graves for future use is also not established in the Sharīʿah. The correct method is to bury the deceased where they pass away, following the Prophet’s ﷺ guidance and the practice of the righteous predecessors.ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
