Is it permissible to build another cemetery above the current illegitimate cemetery—due to the rise in groundwater levels and the widespread custom of burying the dead above ground—such that the upper one is for women and the lower one is for men, or should men and women be buried together in the existing cemetery?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Placing the deceased on the ground without digging is not sufficient, because the minimum requirement for a grave is a pit that prevents the emanation of odor and prevents wild animals from disturbing the deceased. Similarly, preparing rooms below or above ground and placing the dead in them without digging and burial is not sufficient, and some jurists have forbidden burial in them. The solution is burial in the earth, and if it becomes full, and if it is highly probable that the old deceased have disintegrated, then it is permissible to bury in their place.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/143490
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 143490
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy