Sunnah Way of Entering the Deceased into the Grave in Islam

❀ Sunnah Method of Placing the Deceased into the Grave ❀
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori

❖ Introduction​

The Sunnah method of placing a deceased person into the grave is to enter them from the foot-end of the grave — i.e., placing the body in from the lower side, with the head entering first from the Qiblah-facing direction. This method is supported by authentic narrations and the practice of the Companions.

✿ ➊ Evidence from the Companion ʿAbdullāh ibn Yazīd رضي الله عنه​

"ʿAbdullāh ibn Yazīd entered a deceased person into the grave from the foot side and said:"
"This is from the Sunnah."

References:
✔ Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 2750 (Kitāb al-Janāʾiz: Bāb Kayfa Yudkhal al-Mayyit Qabrah)
✔ Sunan Abū Dāwūd: 3211
✔ Al-Bayhaqī: 4/54

✿ ➋ Evidence from the Burial of the Prophet ﷺ​

Narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:


"Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ was placed into his grave from the direction of his head, sliding in."
(Meaning: entered from the foot-end of the grave.)


References:
✔ Musnad al-Shāfiʿī: 1/215, 597–598


Imāms al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal both followed this view.

✿ ➌ Ḥanafī View: Entering from the Qiblah Side​

According to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله:
The deceased should be entered into the grave from the Qiblah side, across the width of the grave.


References from Ḥanafī Sources:


✔ Al-Ḥāwī: 3/61
✔ Al-Umm (al-Shāfiʿī): 1/457
✔ Al-Mughnī: 3/426
✔ Ḥāshiyat al-Dusūqī: 1/419
✔ Al-Ikhtiyār: 1/96
✔ Al-Hidāyah: 1/93
✔ Al-Mabsūṭ: 2/61
✔ Tuhfat al-Fuqahāʾ: 1/399

✿ ➍ Commentary from Scholars​

Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله stated:


“Following the Sunnah is superior to personal opinion.”
Meaning: Placing the body into the grave from the foot-end (head first) is better than entering it across the width of the grave.


Reference:
✔ Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/29

❖ Conclusion​

Sunnah Method: The deceased should be entered into the grave from the foot-end, sliding the body head first toward the Qiblah side.
This method is proven from the Prophet’s ﷺ own burial and practiced by Companions like Ibn Yazīd.
While other juristic opinions (e.g., Ḥanafī) allow entry from the Qiblah side across the width, adhering to the Sunnah is more virtuous and preferred.
As Imām al-Shawkānī said: Following the Sunnah is better than personal reasoning.


وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ