QUESTION:
What do the scholars of the Dīn and muftīs of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: When someone passes away, then should their grave be made level or should it be raised above the ground, and also how should it look on the outside; if you can please grant some guidance.
Questioner: Inayat from UK
ANSWER:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایة الحق والصواب
A grave should not be level with the ground; rather, it should be one span[1] above the ground, or some amount above. The grave should be shaped like the hump of a camel); it should not be quadrangular i.e. four cornered – that which has four flat sides [e.g. squared, rectangular].
Just as it is stated in Fatāwā ‘Ālamgīrī,
“وَيُسْنَمُ الْقَبْرُ قَدْرَ الشِّبْرِ وَلَا يُرَبَّعُ”
“A grave is to be raised like the hump of a camel; it is not to be made with four corners.”
[al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah, vol 1, ch 21, pg 166]
Likewise, it is stated in Bahār-e-Sharī’at that the grave should not be made with four corners (i.e. rectangular or square), but it should be raised, like the hump of a camel. There is also no harm in sprinkling water on it (the grave), but it is better to. The grave should be about one span high, or a little bit more than a span.
[Bahār-e-Sharī’at, vol 1, part 4, pg 844]
[1] A maximum distance between the tips of the thumb and the little finger.
والله تعالی أعلم ورسوله أعلم
صلی الله علیه وآله وسلم کتبه أبو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء القادري
Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qādiri
Translated by Haider Ali al-Madanī
Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0875] Should a grave be level with the ground or above it?
