If a grave is dug for a specific person and then someone else is buried in it, what is the ruling?
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The questioner : Is it permissible to open an old grave to bury someone else on top of it?
The Shaykh : If it has turned into bones, it is permissible; otherwise, it is not. If it has turned into dust, it is permissible; otherwise, it is not.
The questioner : What is the duration until it becomes bones?
The Shaykh : The duration, may Allah reward you, varies according to the soil. Some soils cause decomposition to spread quickly to the body, while others are dry and preserve the body for a long time. These are matters that are not known except through experience. As it is said, the people of Makkah know its valleys best, and the owner of a house knows what is in it best. So, the people of every village know this through experience. As for setting a legal limit that cannot be exceeded, that is a matter that is never reasonable.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, is the permissibility regarding the question the brother asked absolute, or is it restricted to necessity? That is, is burying on top of someone in this state permissible only out of necessity?
The Shaykh : I understood you, but do you think necessity can be imagined here? If it can be imagined, then necessities permit what is more important than these prohibitions.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, the opposite, and even without necessity? That is, the question seems to be that you understood from the brother that it is without necessity.
The Shaykh : Of course, without necessity.
Al-Halabi : So, is it permissible even without necessity?
The Shaykh : How is it permissible? We said it is not permissible except after it has turned into bones.
Al-Halabi : We are convinced in our minds that it has turned into bones.
The Shaykh : Fine, whether in a case of necessity or not!
Al-Halabi : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : This is a self-evident matter. It is reported from al-Ma'arri that he said:
"These are our graves that fill the spacious place, *** So where are the graves from the time of my time?
Lighten your step, for I think the skin *** Of the earth is nothing but these bodies." So, Allah made the earth a covering. Therefore, any part of the land could have been a cemetery one day. And so, if the body has disappeared and turned into bones, burial is permissible even without necessity.
The Shaykh : If it has turned into bones, it is permissible; otherwise, it is not. If it has turned into dust, it is permissible; otherwise, it is not.
The questioner : What is the duration until it becomes bones?
The Shaykh : The duration, may Allah reward you, varies according to the soil. Some soils cause decomposition to spread quickly to the body, while others are dry and preserve the body for a long time. These are matters that are not known except through experience. As it is said, the people of Makkah know its valleys best, and the owner of a house knows what is in it best. So, the people of every village know this through experience. As for setting a legal limit that cannot be exceeded, that is a matter that is never reasonable.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, is the permissibility regarding the question the brother asked absolute, or is it restricted to necessity? That is, is burying on top of someone in this state permissible only out of necessity?
The Shaykh : I understood you, but do you think necessity can be imagined here? If it can be imagined, then necessities permit what is more important than these prohibitions.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, the opposite, and even without necessity? That is, the question seems to be that you understood from the brother that it is without necessity.
The Shaykh : Of course, without necessity.
Al-Halabi : So, is it permissible even without necessity?
The Shaykh : How is it permissible? We said it is not permissible except after it has turned into bones.
Al-Halabi : We are convinced in our minds that it has turned into bones.
The Shaykh : Fine, whether in a case of necessity or not!
Al-Halabi : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : This is a self-evident matter. It is reported from al-Ma'arri that he said:
"These are our graves that fill the spacious place, *** So where are the graves from the time of my time?
Lighten your step, for I think the skin *** Of the earth is nothing but these bodies." So, Allah made the earth a covering. Therefore, any part of the land could have been a cemetery one day. And so, if the body has disappeared and turned into bones, burial is permissible even without necessity.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.