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Are there specific Sharia conditions for building graves, what is the correct Sharia-compliant burial for a body, and is building graves and placing the body above ground in Egypt permissible, and what is the correct practice according to Allah's Sharia?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Sunnah specifies how graves are to be constructed and the deceased buried:

1. A lahd (a niche in the side of the grave facing the Qiblah) is dug for the deceased. The grave should be dug to the height of a man and made wide and long.

2. The deceased is placed on their right side, facing the Qiblah. Their face is supported against the grave wall, and their back is propped with a brick to prevent them from lying flat.

3. The shroud of the deceased should not be torn when placing them in the grave; it is recommended to untie the knots at the head and feet.

4. Unfired bricks (labin) are placed to seal the lahd, protecting the deceased's face from the soil. Placing fired bricks (ajjur) or wood is disliked. Then, soil is poured over the grave. It is Sunnah to throw three handfuls of soil before pouring the rest.

5. The grave should be raised only about a handspan and mounded (made like a camel's hump). Raising it more than that is disliked. It is Sunnah to sprinkle water on the grave to stabilize its soil.

6. Building over the grave, plastering it, and writing on it are disliked. The grave can be marked with a stone or pebbles.

7. Placing the deceased on the surface of the earth and constructing a structure over them violates the teachings of Islam.

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

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