When a Muslim dies in England

What the law says in England

Registering the death

Register within 5 days of the medical examiner’s (or coroner’s) confirmation, counting weekends and bank holidays, at the register office for the district where the death happened. A relative or partner, someone present at the death, the executor, or the person arranging the funeral can register. If you need more time, tell the register office at once. Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, ss. 16–17; GOV.UK, Register the death

Medical examiner, coroner or procurator fiscal

Since 9 September 2024 a medical examiner checks the cause of every death in England that is not investigated by a coroner, and the death cannot be registered until they confirm it. Tell their office early that you need a quick burial. A death is reported to the coroner if the cause is unknown or it may be violent or unnatural. Medical Examiners (England) and (Wales) Regulations 2024; Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019, reg. 3

Release for burial

If the coroner is involved, ask the coroner’s office in writing to treat the death as urgent for religious reasons. The coroner may prioritise it but does not have to, and many areas have no out-of-hours service. Without a coroner, the burial needs the certificate for burial (the “green form”) you get when you register. Chief Coroner’s Guidance No. 28 (2018), paras 6, 10–15

Release for burial

Some councils take registration calls at weekends for urgent burials; Thurrock, for example, answers on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 2pm. Ask your own council’s register office what it offers. Thurrock Council, Procedure and practical guide for Muslim burials

Burial

Many council cemeteries have a Muslim section, and each council sets its own rules. Some allow burial in the shroud without a coffin, usually carried to the grave in a temporary coffin, and not where there was a notifiable disease. Ask the cemetery office before the day. Thurrock Council, Muslim burials guide; Chorley Council, Muslim burial procedure

Probate or confirmation

Ask each bank whether it needs probate. With a will, the executors apply; without one, the closest relative, normally the husband or wife, then children over 18. A partner who was not legally married cannot apply. GOV.UK, Applying for probate

Small estates

There is no single limit. Each bank or company decides how much it will release without probate, and property or money owned jointly as joint tenants passes to the survivor. GOV.UK, Applying for probate: check if probate is needed

Tell Us Once and benefits

The registrar gives you a Tell Us Once number; use it within 28 days to tell HMRC, DWP, the Passport Office, DVLA and the council at once. A widow or widower under State Pension age should claim Bereavement Support Payment within 3 months. GOV.UK, Tell Us Once; Bereavement Support Payment

From official sources, checked October 2026. Laws change; your funeral director and a solicitor can confirm them.

The steps

1. 1

   Have the death confirmed

   In the first hour · 0 of 4

   A doctor or paramedic has to confirm the death before anything else can happen.

   • In a hospital or hospice, ask the staff to confirm the death
   • At home and expected, call the GP, or NHS 111 if you cannot reach them
   • At home and unexpected, call 999
   • Tell the staff early that the family needs a quick burial for religious reasons
2. and

   Close the eyes, cover the body, make duʿā

   In the first hour · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 4

   Gently and without hurry. Those present can do this while the calls are made.

   • Close the eyes and the mouth
   • Straighten the arms and legs
   • Cover the body with a clean sheet
   • Pray for them, and say only good
3. 2

   Call the mosque’s funeral service

   In the first few hours · 0 of 3

   Many mosques and Muslim burial councils run a funeral service. They arrange the washing, the shroud, the prayer and the burial, and help with the paperwork.

   • Call the mosque’s funeral service or the imam
   • Tell them where the body is and who the next of kin is
   • Agree a time for the ghusl and the janazah prayer

   Find a Muslim funeral service

4. 3

   The medical examiner checks the cause of deathPaperwork

   In the first days · 0 of 4

   In England and Wales a medical examiner, a senior doctor who was not involved in the care, checks every cause of death before it can be registered. Their office will call the family.

   • Tell the doctor and the medical examiner’s office that the family needs a quick burial for religious reasons
   • Give them a phone number that will be answered
   • Ask any questions you have about the cause of death
   • Wait for their confirmation before you register
5. 4

   Ask whether the coroner is involvedPaperwork

   If the death was sudden · 0 of 4

   If the cause of death is unknown, or the death was sudden, violent or unnatural, the doctor reports it to the coroner. The coroner decides when to release the body, and may order a post-mortem, which can delay the burial.

   • Ask the hospital or police whether the death has gone to the coroner
   • Ask the coroner’s office, in writing and early, to treat the death as urgent for religious reasons
   • Ask whether a scan (CT) can be used instead of an invasive post-mortem
   • Ask to be told when and where any post-mortem will take place
6. 5

   Register the death within 5 daysPaperwork

   Once the medical examiner confirms · 0 of 5

   The 5 days start when the medical examiner (or the coroner) confirms the cause of death, and include weekends and bank holidays. A relative or another qualified person registers it at a register office.

   • Book with the register office for the area where the death happened
   • A relative, someone present at the death, the executor, or the person arranging the funeral can register
   • Ask whether the council offers weekend or out-of-hours registration for urgent burials
   • Take the certificate for burial (the “green form”) to the funeral service
   • If you need more than 5 days, tell the register office at once
7. 6

   Arrange the funeral service and the gravePaperwork

   Within the first day · 0 of 4

   The mosque’s service or a Muslim funeral director usually collects the body and arranges the grave with the council or a Muslim cemetery.

   • Confirm the body can be washed by Muslims at their premises
   • Ask for no embalming and no viewing
   • Ask the council cemetery about its Muslim section
   • Ask whether the council allows burial in the shroud without a coffin
8. and

   Wash and shroud the body

   Within the first day · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 2

   Done by trained Muslims of the same sex, or by the spouse. The funeral service usually provides the cloth.

   • Confirm who will wash
   • Confirm the kafan is ready

   How the washing and shroud are done

9. 7

   The janazah prayer and the burial

   As soon as possible · 0 of 3

   The prayer is often held after one of the daily prayers, and the burial follows straight after.

   • Tell family and community the time of the prayer
   • Confirm the grave in a Muslim cemetery or Muslim section
   • Ask the price of the exclusive right of burial and the burial fee

   How to pray the janazah prayer

10. 8

    Get copies of the death certificatePaperwork

    In the first week · 0 of 2

    Banks, insurers and pension providers will each want a certified copy.

    • Order several copies from the register office where you registered
    • Or order them later from the General Register Office
11. 9

    Pay the funeral costs and list every debt

    In the first weeks · 0 of 3

    The funeral is paid from the estate first, then the debts. Nothing is inherited until both are settled.

    • Pay the funeral costs from the estate
    • List loans, bills and money owed to family
    • Ask a scholar about any unpaid zakat
12. and

    Find the will, and use Tell Us OncePaperwork

    In the first weeks · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 4

    The executor named in the will leads what follows. Tell Us Once informs most government offices in one go.

    • Check papers at home, email, and with any solicitor
    • Use the Tell Us Once number from the registrar within 28 days
    • A widow or widower under State Pension age: claim Bereavement Support Payment within 3 months
    • Secure the house and car, and keep the phone line active for sign-in codes
13. 10

    Settle and divide the estatePaperwork

    In the months after · 0 of 4

    Ask each bank whether it needs probate. Small sums and jointly owned property can often be released without it, but every bank has its own rules.

    • Apply for probate if the estate needs it
    • Close accounts and cancel subscriptions
    • Pay any bequest, up to one third, to people who are not heirs
    • Divide the rest by the fixed shares

    See how the estate divides

14. 11

    Look after the family

    Four months and ten days · 0 of 3

    A woman keeps the prescribed mourning (iḥdād: setting aside adornment and perfume) for no more than three days for any death, except for her husband: then four months and ten days, the length of her ʿiddah, or until she gives birth if she is pregnant.

    • Bring food and help with the household
    • Help the widow with errands and appointments
    • Make duʿā for the one who has died

    What to say and do when you visit

15. 12

    Write your own Islamic will

    For those left behind · 0 of 4

    Without a valid will, the law of England and Wales decides who inherits, not the fixed shares. An Islamic will is an ordinary will that directs the estate by the shares.

    • Sign it in front of 2 adult witnesses, who also sign
    • Do not leave anything to a witness or their husband or wife
    • Make a new will after marrying: marriage cancels an earlier one
    • Ask a solicitor who writes Islamic wills

    Draft a will that follows the shares

Settling things after the funeral? Keep track of every task, and who is doing it.

General guidance, not a fatwa or legal advice. Rules on registering a death, burial and estates differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; your funeral director and a solicitor can confirm them. All sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Something wrong? Tell us