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What is the ruling on transporting the body of a deceased Muslim from an infidel land to his home country versus burying him where he died, given the presence of some drawbacks in both cases?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is unanimously forbidden to bury a Muslim in the graveyards of disbelievers. The majority permits transporting the deceased from one country to another, and the Shafi'is hold that it is recommended to transport the deceased to a virtuous land. Narrations have indicated the permissibility of transportation. It is also disliked to bury the deceased in a coffin unless there is a benefit, such as soft or wet ground, and a will to be buried in a coffin is not to be executed except for such a benefit. If a Muslim is buried in a graveyard of disbelievers, they should be transferred to Muslim graveyards, because burial in the graveyards of disbelievers entails a greater harm, and to avoid the harms resulting from it.

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

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