What is the ruling on opening a grave to place another deceased person in it?
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Question:
This questioner says, O Shaykh: Recently, cities have experienced overcrowding in their infrastructure and population, which has extended to the graves of Muslims. It has been observed that a grave is opened eight months after a person is buried in it, the remains of the deceased are collected, and then another deceased person is placed in it. What is your opinion on this, especially when the deeds of those buried in the grave differ: some are righteous, and others are not, and Allah knows best about their deeds?
Answer:
The Council of Senior Scholars of the Permanent Committee has studied this issue multiple times and decided that it is obligatory to allocate cemeteries that can accommodate the people, especially in the Arabian Peninsula and the countries of the Peninsula; because there is much land there, praise be to Allah, and cars are available. Therefore, land must be allocated that can accommodate the people, and each grave must be separate, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions did in Madinah, in Makkah, and elsewhere. So every person is buried alone, except if a disaster or calamity occurs and the number of dead increases; in that case, there is no harm in gathering two or three in one grave out of dire necessity and pressing need, as happened on the day of Uhud when the number of casualties was high, the Muslims had wounds, and they feared the evil of the enemy; therefore, they buried two or three in one grave. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would place the best of them facing the qiblah.
As for when people are in safety and well-being, it is obligatory that each person be placed in a grave alone, with no one else with him, and the land is available.
If circumstances become tight, and they are in a narrow country where there is no land, it is permissible for them to bury groups together. However, the general situation in countries is that land is available. If they move away from the city, they will find land where they can bury one person alone, and transport him by cars, trains, vehicles, and the like.
This questioner says, O Shaykh: Recently, cities have experienced overcrowding in their infrastructure and population, which has extended to the graves of Muslims. It has been observed that a grave is opened eight months after a person is buried in it, the remains of the deceased are collected, and then another deceased person is placed in it. What is your opinion on this, especially when the deeds of those buried in the grave differ: some are righteous, and others are not, and Allah knows best about their deeds?
Answer:
The Council of Senior Scholars of the Permanent Committee has studied this issue multiple times and decided that it is obligatory to allocate cemeteries that can accommodate the people, especially in the Arabian Peninsula and the countries of the Peninsula; because there is much land there, praise be to Allah, and cars are available. Therefore, land must be allocated that can accommodate the people, and each grave must be separate, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions did in Madinah, in Makkah, and elsewhere. So every person is buried alone, except if a disaster or calamity occurs and the number of dead increases; in that case, there is no harm in gathering two or three in one grave out of dire necessity and pressing need, as happened on the day of Uhud when the number of casualties was high, the Muslims had wounds, and they feared the evil of the enemy; therefore, they buried two or three in one grave. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would place the best of them facing the qiblah.
As for when people are in safety and well-being, it is obligatory that each person be placed in a grave alone, with no one else with him, and the land is available.
If circumstances become tight, and they are in a narrow country where there is no land, it is permissible for them to bury groups together. However, the general situation in countries is that land is available. If they move away from the city, they will find land where they can bury one person alone, and transport him by cars, trains, vehicles, and the like.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.