Using concrete blocks in constructing the grave niche
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Fatwa No. ( 20158 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after that:
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the letter sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the Mayor of the Province of Tarif , No. (2669), dated 23/11/1418 AH, which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (7196), dated 30/11/1418 AH. His Excellency requested a ruling on the permissibility of using concrete blocks in constructing the grave niche. His letter stated: “With reference to the explanation by His Virtue the Judge of the Tarif Court, No. (1235), dated 10/11/1418 AH, based on our letter No. (2516) dated 4/11/1418 AH regarding our inquiry into the extent of the permissibility of using concrete blocks in the process of constructing the grave niche , and including his Virtue’s suggestion to inquire about this from the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Riyadh. Therefore, we hope you will provide your Virtue’s opinion on the extent of its permissibility, as it is difficult to construct a grave niche in some locations due to the lack of cohesion of the mud bricks, their rapid disintegration, the difficulty of transporting them from one place to another, and the inability to store them or keep them in a place to protect them from weather conditions. His Excellency’s letter was referred to His Virtue the Judge of the Tarif Court by letter No. (5568/2) dated 1/12/1418 AH to form a committee from the court, the governorate, the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Forbidding Vice, and the municipality to inspect
the aforementioned graves and prepare a detailed report on them. Then, the response came by letter No. (39) dated 7/1/1419 AH, accompanied by a report from the committee that inspected the cemetery site. The report stated: “Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. On Wednesday, corresponding to 3/1/1419 AH, based on the letter from His Virtue the Judge of the Tarif Court, No. (1420), dated 22/12/1418 AH, which was based on the letter from the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the President of the Council of Senior Scholars and the Administration of Scholarly Research and Ifta, No. (5568/2), dated 1/12/1418 AH, regarding the formation of a committee from the governorate, the court, the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Forbidding Vice, and the municipality in Tarif to prepare a report clarifying the reasons for the inability to construct grave niches for some graves and the lack of cohesion of the mud bricks... etc. Accordingly, the committee, consisting of: 1- Fahd bin Ashwai al-Anzi , representative of the governorate; 2- Humaidan bin Ali al-Anzi , representative of the court; 3- Muhammad bin Matir al-Hazimi , representative of the Commission; 4- Jabir al-Adham al-Ruwaili , representative of the municipality, went out to the cemetery located in the northern district of the province. The committee found the following: First: Nothing was shown to us that prevents the construction of a grave niche in the graves.
Second: The lack of cohesion of the mud bricks is due to two things: 1- The scarcity of straw in them. 2- The small size of the brick. We recommend paying attention to these two matters in the preparation of mud bricks in the future. Third: We request a ruling on the permissibility of using concrete blocks in constructing the grave niche in the event that it becomes difficult to construct a grave niche or use mud bricks in the future. Accordingly, this record was prepared, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry, it issued a ruling that as long as it is possible to construct a grave niche in the grave, as stated in the report, it should be done; because it is the better option. As for the disintegration of the mud bricks, it is addressed by selecting strong clay and mixing it with straw until it becomes strong and cohesive, as well as selecting solid ground for burial to be made into a cemetery. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after that:
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the letter sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the Mayor of the Province of Tarif , No. (2669), dated 23/11/1418 AH, which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (7196), dated 30/11/1418 AH. His Excellency requested a ruling on the permissibility of using concrete blocks in constructing the grave niche. His letter stated: “With reference to the explanation by His Virtue the Judge of the Tarif Court, No. (1235), dated 10/11/1418 AH, based on our letter No. (2516) dated 4/11/1418 AH regarding our inquiry into the extent of the permissibility of using concrete blocks in the process of constructing the grave niche , and including his Virtue’s suggestion to inquire about this from the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Riyadh. Therefore, we hope you will provide your Virtue’s opinion on the extent of its permissibility, as it is difficult to construct a grave niche in some locations due to the lack of cohesion of the mud bricks, their rapid disintegration, the difficulty of transporting them from one place to another, and the inability to store them or keep them in a place to protect them from weather conditions. His Excellency’s letter was referred to His Virtue the Judge of the Tarif Court by letter No. (5568/2) dated 1/12/1418 AH to form a committee from the court, the governorate, the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Forbidding Vice, and the municipality to inspect
the aforementioned graves and prepare a detailed report on them. Then, the response came by letter No. (39) dated 7/1/1419 AH, accompanied by a report from the committee that inspected the cemetery site. The report stated: “Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. On Wednesday, corresponding to 3/1/1419 AH, based on the letter from His Virtue the Judge of the Tarif Court, No. (1420), dated 22/12/1418 AH, which was based on the letter from the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the President of the Council of Senior Scholars and the Administration of Scholarly Research and Ifta, No. (5568/2), dated 1/12/1418 AH, regarding the formation of a committee from the governorate, the court, the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Forbidding Vice, and the municipality in Tarif to prepare a report clarifying the reasons for the inability to construct grave niches for some graves and the lack of cohesion of the mud bricks... etc. Accordingly, the committee, consisting of: 1- Fahd bin Ashwai al-Anzi , representative of the governorate; 2- Humaidan bin Ali al-Anzi , representative of the court; 3- Muhammad bin Matir al-Hazimi , representative of the Commission; 4- Jabir al-Adham al-Ruwaili , representative of the municipality, went out to the cemetery located in the northern district of the province. The committee found the following: First: Nothing was shown to us that prevents the construction of a grave niche in the graves.
Second: The lack of cohesion of the mud bricks is due to two things: 1- The scarcity of straw in them. 2- The small size of the brick. We recommend paying attention to these two matters in the preparation of mud bricks in the future. Third: We request a ruling on the permissibility of using concrete blocks in constructing the grave niche in the event that it becomes difficult to construct a grave niche or use mud bricks in the future. Accordingly, this record was prepared, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry, it issued a ruling that as long as it is possible to construct a grave niche in the grave, as stated in the report, it should be done; because it is the better option. As for the disintegration of the mud bricks, it is addressed by selecting strong clay and mixing it with straw until it becomes strong and cohesive, as well as selecting solid ground for burial to be made into a cemetery. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.