This is part 2 of the article moving the deceased to another country. You may read Part 1 here.
Another concern when a Muslim or a Muslimah dies in another country and his or her survivors want to bury the deceased outside of the place where they died is:
- Moving the deceased to another place or country after the body has been buried. There are also some differing opinions by respective schools of thought as follows:
- According to Madhhab Maliki, the deceased may be moved from one place to another or from one country to another or from a city to a village with the condition that the following does not occur: outburst during his/her body removal, disturbance of the body’s honor, or being eaten by animals. Or another reason would be the expected blessing in having his/her place moved to be buried among his/her relatives or family in order to make it easier for visiting the grave.
- Madhhab Hambali scholars stated that it is permissible to remove the deceased for justified purposes such as being buried in a better place than where he/she was previously buried, being buried side by side with the pious (except a martyr who is buried in the place where he/she was killed). The martyr should not be moved to another place and if he/she has been moved then it is sunnah to return him/her to his/her previous location, as to be buried in the assassination place is sunnah. Like the command of the Prophet (SAW) to the martyrs of Uhud in order to return them to the place where they died, when the companions wanted to move them to Medina.
- Madhhab Shafi’i scholars argue that excavation and moving the deceased after burial are forbidden unless it is forced (emergency), such as he/she was buried without bathing or tayammum, buried in the land of booty where there are treasures, not facing the Qiblah or to be recovered properly.
- The Hanafi scholars said that one should absolutely not move the corpse after burial. Although the removal of Jacob (Yaqub, AS) and Joseph (Yusuf, AS) from Egypt to Sham to be close to their father, both occurred before the recent sharia applied, in that case breaking the bones was also not allowed nor were people able to move the body even if the body was that of an infidel. (Al-Islami wa Fiqhul Adillatuhu Juz III page 1558-1559).
Therefore, removal of the deceased from the country where he/she died to another country is allowed if the person ‘s body has not been buried yet, unless it is buried but there is a mistake in taking care of the deceased in funeral process, such as: not having been bathed or not having been covered properly. Displacement is based on justifiable reasons such as fearing that the care of the dead in the country where it has died is not in accordance with Islamic law, it being buried in the non-Muslim cemetery, or for making it easier for their relatives to visit the grave. Additional reasons would be that of a concern for the body being buried in the country where he/she died but it is feared that his/her grave will not be maintained properly; or that the body would be buried with the graves of pious people in his/her native country if moved, or to facilitate matters related to the deceased and his/her inheritance, such as processing death insurance.
However, honor of the deceased during the removal would still be maintained and the removal process should not be too long as to damage or bring bad odor from the body of the corpse.
Wallahu A’lam
