Can a Muslim be buried in a coffin?

In more detail

• SchoolḤanafī

  No harm in a coffin when there is a need, such as soft or wet ground; otherwise it is disliked. Ḥanafī shaykhs, as quoted from al-Muḥīṭ, approved a coffin for a woman even where the ground is not soft, as it covers her better.

  Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī), 2:234–235

• SchoolMālikī

  The niche in the grave is closed with unbaked bricks, boards, stone or cane, or with earth alone; each of these is better than burial in a coffin.

  Al-Dardīr, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr, with Ḥāshiyat al-Dasūqī (Mālikī), 1:419–420

• SchoolShāfiʿī

  Burial in a coffin is disliked unless the ground is soft or wet, and then it is paid from the estate. Al-Nawawī calls the dislike the view of all scholars.

  Al-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ (Shāfiʿī), 5:287–288

• SchoolḤanbalī

  Ibn Qudāmah: a coffin is not recommended, as it was not reported from the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions. Al-Buhūtī: it is disliked, even for a woman.

  Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī), 2:376 · Al-Buhūtī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ (Ḥanbalī), 2:134

• What US law says

  No state law requires an outer burial container, but many cemeteries do. Muslim cemeteries differ: the Las Vegas Islamic Cemetery allows no burial container and places the body directly in the ground, the Islamic Society of Central New York uses no casket or liner, and the Utah Islamic Center’s burial fee includes a cement vault. You may buy a casket elsewhere; the funeral home cannot charge you a fee to handle it.

  Federal Trade Commission, The FTC Funeral Rule · Las Vegas Islamic Cemetery (Islamic Foundation of Nevada), Burial info · Islamic Society of Central New York, Burial Services · Utah Islamic Center, Burial Services