The grave and burial
How a grave is dug and shaped, how the body is lowered facing the qiblah, who may enter the grave, and what is said while filling it.
Burying the body is the last step, and it is a duty on the community, just like the washing, the shroud and the funeral prayer.
Burial is farḍ kifāyah: a duty on the whole community, just like washing, shrouding, and the funeral prayer.
Choosing and digging the grave
- The body is buried in a Muslim graveyard, not in the house or place where the person died.
- It is better to use the graveyard closest to where the person passed away.
- There are two ways to shape the grave: a lahd, which is a little side-room dug into the wall of the grave facing the qiblah, or a shaq, a straight trough dug down the middle. The lahd is the preferred, sunnah way; if the ground is too soft for it, a shaq is used instead.
- The grave should be as long as the person, about half that in width, and at least half a person's height deep; deeper is better, up to about a full height or a little more.
Lowering the body
- The body goes in from the side that faces the qiblah.
- It is laid on its right side, facing the qiblah.
- The people lowering the body face the qiblah too, and say: 'Bismillāhi wa ʿalā millati rasūli'llāh' as they lower it in.
- For a woman, it is recommended that her closest male relatives (her father, son or brother, for example) are the ones who lower her in, keeping her covered and private. If none are there, other male relatives or neighbours may do it.
Non-Muslims, and women, are not allowed to go down into the grave.
Filling the grave
- The grave is sealed with bricks or stones so no gaps are left, then the earth that was dug out is put back, not more, not less.
- It is recommended to start filling from the head end, with each person adding three handfuls of soil while saying these words from the Qur'an.
مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَ فِيْهَا نُعِيْدُكُمْ وَ مِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرٰى
Minhā khalaqnākum, wa fīhā nuʿīdukum, wa minhā nukhrijukum tāratan ukhrā
From it We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you out once again.
Burial follows the funeral prayer without delay, and is itself a communal obligation with its own conditions and etiquette.
Burial is a farḍ (obligatory) act, farḍ kifāyah just as washing, shrouding, and the funeral prayer are.
| Point | What is stated |
|---|---|
| Burying at the place of death | Disliked: this is reserved for the prophets. Burial should instead be in a Muslim cemetery. |
| Which cemetery | Better to use the one nearest to where the person died. |
| Types of grave | A lahd (a niche cut into the qiblah-facing wall of the grave) or a shaq (a straight trough dug down the centre). |
| Which is preferred | The lahd is the sunnah shape. Where the soil is too soft to hold a lahd, a shaq is permitted instead. |
| Dimensions | Length matching the deceased; width about half the length; depth at least half an average person's height, though deeper, around a full height or a little more, is preferable. |
Lowering the body
- The body is lowered into the grave from the side facing the qiblah, once the grave is ready.
- It is placed facing the qiblah, laid on its right side. The book describes this, for its own setting, as the head to the north and the feet to the south: the point that matters is that the body faces the qiblah on its right side, whichever compass direction that happens to be where you are.
- Those lowering the body face the qiblah and say "Bismillāhi wa ʿalā millati rasūli'llāh" as the body is lowered in.
- The method is the same for a man and a woman, but a veil (covering, privacy) is maintained for a woman during the burial. Where possible, her male guardians (father, son, brother, and so on) should be the ones to lower her in; failing them, other male relatives or neighbours may do so.
It is forbidden for non-Muslims, and for women, to descend into a grave.
Sealing and filling the grave
- The grave is sealed with clay bricks or stones so that no gaps remain through which earth could fall directly onto the body.
- The excavated earth is returned to the grave, neither more nor less than what was dug out.
- It is recommended to begin filling from the head end, with each person adding three handfuls of soil while reciting the following.
مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَ فِيْهَا نُعِيْدُكُمْ وَ مِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرٰى
Minhā khalaqnākum, wa fīhā nuʿīdukum, wa minhā nukhrijukum tāratan ukhrā
From it We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you out once again.
Reciting this verse while adding the soil, in three separate portions ('From it We created you', 'and into it We will return you', 'and from it We will bring you out once again'), is a recommended practice.
1| Point | Ruling |
|---|---|
| Mounding the grave, about a hand's height above ground, in a rounded shape like a camel's hump | Sunnah |
| Mounding it a little higher than that | Permitted |
| Mounding it very high | Disliked |
| A flat, square or cubical shape | Disliked |
| Decorating the grave with carvings or markings | Forbidden |
| Burying more than one person in a single grave | Not permissible, except where truly necessary |
Burial (dafn) is farḍ kifāyah, on the same footing as ghusl, kafan and the janāzah prayer. The source (rulings-of-funeral/burial-and-its-related-rules#p1) sets it out as a single numbered list of twenty-two points, reproduced here by topic.
Burial of the deceased is farḍ kifāyah, exactly as washing, shrouding and the funeral prayer are.
| Point | What is stated |
|---|---|
| Burying at the place of death | Disliked (makrūh): reserved for the prophets ﷺ; burial is instead in a Muslim cemetery. |
| Which cemetery | The one nearest to where death occurred is preferable. |
| Two grave types | Laḥd (a niche cut into the qiblah-facing wall) and shaqq (a straight trough down the centre). |
| Preferred type | The laḥd is the sunnah shape; where the soil is too soft to sustain it, the shaqq is permitted. |
| Dimensions | Length matching the deceased; width roughly half the length; depth at minimum half an average adult's height, with depth up to a full height or slightly more being preferable. |
Lowering the body
- The body is lowered from the qiblah-facing side of the grave once it is ready.
- It is placed facing the qiblah, laid on its right side. The source states this for its own geography as head to the north, feet to the south, reflecting a westward qiblah; the operative principle given in the same sentence is facing the qiblah on the right side, and the compass points follow from wherever the qiblah actually lies.
- Those lowering the body face the qiblah themselves and recite "Bismillāhi wa ʿalā millati rasūli'llāh" as it is lowered.
- The method does not differ between a man and a woman, save that a veil (satr) is maintained for a woman throughout. Where possible her male guardians (walī), father, son, brother, and the like, lower her; in their absence, other male relatives or neighbours may do so.
It is forbidden (ḥarām) for non-Muslims, and for women, to descend into a grave.
Sealing and filling the grave
- The grave is sealed with clay bricks or stones, leaving no gap through which earth could fall directly onto the body.
- The excavated earth is returned, neither augmented nor reduced.
- Filling recommended to begin from the head end, each person adding three handfuls while reciting the following verse in three portions.
مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَ فِيْهَا نُعِيْدُكُمْ وَ مِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرٰى
Minhā khalaqnākum, wa fīhā nuʿīdukum, wa minhā nukhrijukum tāratan ukhrā
From it We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you out once again.
It is recommended to accompany each of the three handfuls with one clause of this verse in turn: "From it We created you" with the first, "and into it We will return you" with the second, "and from it We will bring you out once again" with the third.
1| Point | Ruling |
|---|---|
| Mounding the grave about a hand's height above ground, camel-hump shaped | Sunnah |
| Mounding it a little higher still | Permitted |
| Mounding it excessively high | Disliked (makrūh) |
| A flat, square or cubical shape | Disliked (makrūh) |
| Decorating the grave with carvings or markings | Forbidden (ḥarām) |
| Burying more than one person in a single grave | Not permissible, except where genuinely necessary |
Burying a new body in a previously used grave is not permitted unless the earlier occupant's body has fully decayed to dust; where it has, the bones are gathered and set aside before the new burial proceeds.
Terms on this page
Related
- The funeral prayer: ruling and conditions Why the funeral prayer (salat al-janazah) is fard kifayah, its conditions, who has the right to lead it, and when it may not be prayed.
- Carrying the bier to the grave How the bier is carried, who may walk where in the procession, and why women do not take part in it.
- Miscellaneous rules of death and burial Seeing the deceased's face, a spouse's rights, handling a non-Muslim relative's body, visiting graves, and how long mourning lasts.
- Immediately after death The first practical things to do for the body right after death, before the ghusl: positioning, closing the eyes, and what to avoid.