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Is it permissible to transfer the body of a deceased wife, buried in an illegitimate cemetery in Egypt, to Palestine for burial there?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars differ on the permissibility of moving the deceased after burial. Some absolutely forbid it, such as the Hanafis, Shafi'is, and Hanbalis. Others permit it under specific conditions for necessity or benefit, such as the later Hanafis and the Malikis. The Malikis stipulated conditions for the permissibility of moving the deceased: that the body does not decompose, that its sanctity is not violated, and that there is a benefit, such as fear for the body, or for the blessings of the place it is moved to, or to be buried among their family, or for the ease of family visitation, or to remove a Muslim buried in a disbelievers' cemetery.

Based on this, it is permissible according to the Malikis to move the wife to be buried where her family is and where she can be visited easily, whereas it is not permissible according to others. However, if the burial was unlawful due to the construction of the grave, then moving it is not permissible; rather, what is prescribed is to level the grave if possible.

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

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