Each dead body should be buried in a separate grave

445

Q: On Friday, 15/3/1416 A.H., one of our relatives was buried in the cemetery of Al-Ta'if, which is adjacent to the Masjid (mosque) of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). We noticed that the graves there - 2 meters long, 70 centimeters wide, and 1.2 meters high - are hollows inside the earth and are built with bricks. (Part No. 7; Page No. 284) My question is: What is the opinion of Your Eminence concerning these graves, given that they do not have Lahd (a crevice on the side of a grave toward the direction faced for Prayer)? The cemetery in question is small and very old. Wondering how such graves, which are relatively large, accommodate a large number of dead persons buried over many years, we have been informed by three workers there that approximately two years after a person is buried, their bones are collected and reburied in a hole in the same grave, which is leveled anew so that another dead person can be buried in it. The workers find this method much easier than digging anew and building with bricks.

A: It is obligatory to bury each dead person in a single grave with a Lahd, which is to be covered with a brick, or the like. It is not permissible to bury a group of dead persons in one grave unless it is too difficult to bury each person separately, due to having a huge number of deaths resulting from emergency circumstances, such as an epidemic, genocide, etc. In this case, two or three persons may be buried in one grave, with the more practicing Muslim of them being placed closest to the Qiblah (Ka`bah-direction faced in Prayer). This is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) did with the deaths of Uhud. As for exhuming graves sometime after the dead has been buried, collecting the remains in one side of the grave, and then using the grave to bury another dead person, this act is not permissible at all. (Part No. 7; Page No. 285) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.