Back to search

What is the ruling on livestock and beasts passing through graveyards and using the spaces between graves as a path for carriages and animals, with the animals relieving themselves among the graves while passing through? Is this permissible out of necessity, and what should a Muslim do about it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The deceased have sanctity, and it is not permissible to desecrate graves by having roads pass over them. However, if the paths in the cemetery are distinct from the graves and walking on them does not entail walking on the graves themselves, then there is no harm in using them, whether on foot or by car. Barriers and walls must be erected around the graves to protect them from harm by passersby. But if a road penetrates the graves, then this is not permissible.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy