Where Should the Deceased Be Buried?

Source: Maḥnāmah al-Ḥadīth, Ḥaẓro

1. Question​

Our city is renowned for its saints and pīr-s (spiritual masters). Out of devotion, many people transport their deceased loved ones hundreds of miles—leaving their own village or town cemetery—to bury them here. Sometimes, immediately after interring one body, they prepare additional graves in the same spot for other relatives. Is this practice permissible?

2. The Sunnah Ruling: Bury at the Place of Death​

❶ Jābir رضي الله عنه reports:
“On the day of Uhud, when we gathered the martyrs to bury them in Jannat al-Baqīʿ, a herald proclaimed: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commands that the slain be buried at the very site where they fell.’”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3165; Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 1717—ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ; Sunan an-Nasā’ī 4/79; Ibn Mājah 1512)

• Scholarly Endorsement: Ibn al-Jarūd (d. 553 AH), Ibn Ḥibbān (d. 775 AH), and Ibn Khuzaymah declared this report authentic. Its narrator, Shaykh al-ʿAnzī, is trustworthy.

❷ ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها relates:
When ʿAbdur-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr رضي الله عنه was brought from afar to be buried in Mecca, she said:
“Had I been present, he would have been buried where he died.”

(Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 1055; Musannaf ʿAbd ar-Razzāq 3/517—ḥasan)

• Additional Reports: See Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī (4/57), among others.

3. Conclusion​

The established Sunnah is to bury the deceased in the locality where they passed away, without transporting them long distances for the sake of sentiment or prestige. Departing from this practice—especially when it imposes hardship or neglects the deceased’s local resting place—contravenes the guidance of Prophet ﷺ.