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Is it necessary to alert graveyard custodians to those who practice necrophilia, or to monitor the graveyard and its custodian at every burial? And is there a custodian for every Islamic graveyard? And is it better to deepen the grave and build over it when burying a Muslim?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Building upon graves is forbidden by Islamic law, except out of necessity, such as fear of the grave being desecrated or robbed. In such cases, building is permissible to the extent necessary to protect the grave. Unless there is a genuine necessity, the default remains no building. Certainty is not overridden by doubt, so building is not permissible based merely on an illusion. Assigning a guard for cemeteries in general is not obligatory unless there is a reason that necessitates guarding. Desecrating graves to steal shrouds or bodies for sale for educational purposes is theft, and the prescribed Islamic penalties apply. Deepening the grave is absolutely recommended because it dispels odor, makes it harder for animals to exhume the body, and provides more concealment for the deceased.

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

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