How can it be explained that the earth does not consume the body of a Christian priest who died as an unbeliever, even though the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, informed us that the earth is forbidden from consuming the bodies of prophets only?
The hadith: "Indeed, Allah has forbidden the earth from consuming the bodies of prophets," does not necessarily imply that it consumes the bodies of others. Allah may preserve the bodies of some righteous individuals as an honor or for a divine wisdom. If the preservation of the mentioned priest's body is proven, it is not improbable. And if he was upon the true religion of Jesus before its distortion, then the preservation of his body is not surprising, because whoever was upon the religion of the prophets before its distortion is a Muslim. For indeed, the religion with Allah is Islam, and Muslims believe in all prophets.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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