Q 1: During their terminal illness, some people make their will to be buried in the city or village where they were brought up. What should the guardians do? Is it obligatory for them to execute this will, or is it only desirable? And if it is not permissible to execute it, is there a limited distance beyond which it is not permissible to move the deceased? Also, is it permissible for children to move their dead parents who gasped their last breath in their own towns over a distance of one hundred km, to be buried in the towns where their children live so that it is easier for them to visit and supplicate for their parents while standing before their grave?

A: Even if the deceased willed to be buried in a specific town, their will is not binding, as the Sunnah (action following the teachings of the Prophet) is to prepare the deceased for burial as soon as possible and then bury them in the public graveyard of the town in which they died. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: It is not advisable that the corpse of a Muslim should remain withheld among his family (Related by Abu Dawud in his Sunan (Hadith compilations classified by jurisprudential themes)) In another place he (peace be upon him) said: Make haste with the funeral; if the dead person was good, it is a good state to which you are sending him; but if they were otherwise it is an evil of which you are ridding yourselves. By and large, there are many pieces of evidence that urge Muslims to hasten to bury the dead people. (Part No. 7; Page No. 314) May Allah grant us success. May be peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!