Direction in which the deceased should be placed
QUESTION:-
After performing ghusl for the deceased, should the head or the feet of the deceased face the Qiblah when laying the Mayyit down before burial?
ANSWER:-
Fundamentally, one should endeavour to bury the deceased as soon as possible after Ghusl has been completed. [[i]]. Regarding this, Nabi ﷺ said, “O ʿAlī, do not delay in three things: [1] The performance of Ṣalaah when its time enters [2] The performance of Janaazah [Ṣalaah] when the deceased is present [3] and the marriage of an unmarried woman when you find her a suitable match.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 171].
From the above Hadith, we understand the importance of hastening with the Janaazah Salaah and burial. There is no harm in bringing the body of the deceased to the house after Ghusl. However, it is preferable that the deceased be buried as quickly as possible. It is not appropriate to delay the burial due to waiting for relatives to arrive from far and wide [[ii]].
With regard to the direction in which the deceased should be placed after Ghusl, it is recorded in Fataawa Aalamghiri that according to some Ulama, the deceased will be placed as he would lie down when he was ill and he intended to perform Salaah (with the head slightly raised, and the feet facing in the direction of the Qiblah). Others have stated that he should be placed down as he would be placed in the Qabr. However, the correct view is that the body may be placed in any direction that is convenient, hence, no issue should be raised in this regard.
كَيْفِيَّةُ الْوَضْعِ عِنْدَ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِنَا الْوَضْعُ طُولًا كَمَا فِي حَالَةِ الْمَرَضِ إذَا أَرَادَ الصَّلَاةَ بِإِيمَاءٍ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ اخْتَارَ الْوَضْعَ كَمَا يُوضَعُ فِي الْقَبْرِ وَالْأَصَحُّ أَنَّهُ يُوضَعُ كَمَا تَيَسَّرَ، كَذَا فِي الظَّهِيرِيَّةِ. (الفتاوي الهندية ص158 ج1)
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:-
Mufti Abdur Rahman Abdur Razak
Date:- 17 Dhul Qa’dah 1444 / English Date: 07 June 2023
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai