How is a Muslim laid in the grave?

In more detail

• The laḥd and the shaqq

  Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ asked for a laḥd, a niche dug into the side of the grave, with bricks set upright over him, as was done for the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said: the laḥd is for us and the shaqq for others. The Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī books prefer the laḥd, and use the shaqq, a trench in the middle of the grave, where the ground is too soft for a niche.

  Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 966 · Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3208 (ṣaḥīḥ, al-Albānī) · Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī), 2:234–236 · Al-Shīrāzī’s Muhadhdhab, in al-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ (Shāfiʿī), 5:286 · Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī, with the other schools), 2:370–372

• On the right side, facing the qiblah

  The body is laid in the niche on its right side, its face toward the qiblah, close to the wall so it does not fall forward, and supported from behind with earth. The shroud’s ties are undone.

  Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī, with the other schools), 2:370–372 · Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī), 2:234–236 · Al-Dardīr, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr, with Ḥāshiyat al-Dasūqī (Mālikī), 1:419

• Lowering the body

  ʿAbdullāh ibn Yazīd lowered the body in from the foot end of the grave and said: this is the Sunnah. The Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools prefer this; the Ḥanafī school brings the body in from the qiblah side. Aḥmad said: each way is fine, whichever is easier. While a woman is lowered, a cloth is held over her grave.

  Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3211 (ṣaḥīḥ, al-Albānī) · Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī, with the other schools), 2:370–372 · Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī), 2:234–236

• What is said

  When the Prophet ﷺ placed the dead in the grave, he said: in the name of Allah, and on the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (bismillāh wa ʿalā sunnati rasūlillāh).

  Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3213 (ṣaḥīḥ, al-Albānī)

• How deep

  The Prophet ﷺ told the Companions: dig, make it wide, make it good, and make it deep. Ḥanafī: at least half a man’s height, or to the chest, and deeper is better, so that no smell escapes and animals cannot reach the body. Ḥanbalī: Aḥmad said to the chest. Shāfiʿī: a man’s height with his arm raised. In the US, many cemeteries require a grave liner or vault, though no state law does; ask the cemetery what it allows.

  Can a Muslim be buried without a casket?

  Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1713 (ṣaḥīḥ, Darussalam; al-Tirmidhī: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ) · Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3216 (ṣaḥīḥ, al-Albānī) · Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī), 2:234–236 · Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī, with the other schools), 2:370–372 · Al-Shīrāzī’s Muhadhdhab, in al-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ (Shāfiʿī), 5:286 · Federal Trade Commission, The FTC Funeral Rule

• Closing the grave

  The niche is closed with bricks set upright, or with boards or cane, and the gaps are filled so earth does not reach the body. Then earth is poured in. The Prophet ﷺ threw three handfuls of earth from the head end of the grave. The Ḥanafī text recommends doing the same; Aḥmad did it, and said: if one does, it is good, and if not, there is no harm.

  Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 966 · Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī, with the other schools), 2:370–372 · Al-Dardīr, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr, with Ḥāshiyat al-Dasūqī (Mālikī), 1:419–420 · Sunan Ibn Mājah 1565 (ḥasan, Darussalam) · Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī), 2:234–236