Is it permissible to cremate the dead body of a person?
Dear Brother / Sister,
According to our religion, the dead bodies need to be washed, enshrouded and buried in the ground. It is stated in the Quran that this action was taught to man by Allah and that Adam’s son, who found out about what to do with the dead body from the acts of a raven, said, "Woe is me! Was I not even, able to be as this raven and to hide the shame of my brother?!" (al-Maeda, 5/31)
In some other verses, it is implied that the dead body needs to be buried. (Taha 20/ 55, al-Mursalat 77/25-26; Abasa 80/21-22)
Burying the dead body has a lot of wisdoms in terms of environmental cleaning, health, preserving the prestige of man and reminding death, etc." (See Mustafa Uzunpostalcı, "Defin", Diyanet İslam Ansiklopedisi, v: 9, p: 86)
Besides, the following hadith was reported regarding the dead body from our Prophet:
"To break the bone of a dead person is like breaking the bone of a living person." (Muwatta, Janaiz 15; Abu Dawud, Janaiz 58-60; Ibn Majah Janaiz, 63)
That is, it is not permissible to break the bone of a living person; it is not permissible to break the bone of a dead person, either. Cremating the dead body of a person can be compared to it.
Questions on Islam
- Is it haram to cremate the dead body in Islam? Where will the spirit of the dead person be if his body is cremated and its ashes fly away?
- How can we overcome the fear of death?
- How will the grave punishment of the dead people whose corpses are not found be? Does the soul suffer the punishment of grave?
- Is it permissible to collect the bones in a grave in order to change the place of a grave?
- Is there penalty in the grave? What are the verses in the Quran related to penalty in the grave? If there is penalty in the grave, will it be for the body or the spirit? Is penalty in the grave contrary to Allah’s mercy?
- Can the funeral of a deceased person be delayed for a long period?
- Can the dead body of a Muslim be buried in a Christian cemetery?
- What can be done as charity, prayer and favor for a dead person? What supplications and chapters along with the chapter of Yasin should be read to decrease a dead person’s penalty in the grave?
- What can be done as charity, prayer and favor for a dead person? What supplications and chapters along with the chapter of Yasin should be read to decrease a dead person’s penalty in the grave?
- Can the dead body of a Muslim be buried in a Christian cemetery?
