Is it permissible to bury a Muslim in a non-Muslim cemetery? If a Muslim was buried in a non-Muslim cemetery would it be permissible to transfer it to a Muslim cemetery?

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

Answer 1

A Muslim should be buried, if possible in a Muslim cemetery. To bury a Muslim in a non-Muslim cemetery is Makruh, especially if there is a Muslim cemetery already there.

However, if there wasn’t a Muslim cemetery available, and the family had no alternative but to bury him there, then this will not be Makruh.

(Fatawa Darul-Uloom Deoband P.399 V.5)

Answer 2

Regarding your question whether it would be permissible for the family to transfer the body from the non-Muslim cemetery to a Muslim cemetery, the answer in light of the Quran and Sunnah is that after it has been buried, it is not permissible to transfer the body from one place to another.

Allahma Ibn-Aabideen Shami (RA) in Raddul-Muhtar (P.145 V.3) has said:

“After the deceased has been buried, it is not permissible, to take him out unless there is a right of a human.”

For example, if the deceased’s family had buried him in a place where they did not gain permission from the owner etc.

Therefore, in your situation, the family would not be allowed to transfer the body from the non-Muslim cemetery to a Muslim cemetery.

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Only Allah Knows Best.

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham.