Burial without ghusl & cremation questions

[Anonymous]

During the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, family members or others who washed the dead bodies became exposed to the virus and became ill. 

1. Can a Muslim be buried without being washed?

2. Can a Muslim be cremated to make sure that nobody is exposed to his/her illness?

Don't give old fatwas. Need new ones.

[myouvial]

I would think : Do what ever you would like to do, but only your self take the the consequences.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Please ask Ayatullah Khamenei. 

[Sumerian]

On 2/5/2017 at 5:52 PM, Anonymous said:

During the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, family members or others who washed the dead bodies became exposed to the virus and became ill. 

1. Can a Muslim be buried without being washed?

2. Can a Muslim be cremated to make sure that nobody is exposed to his/her illness?

Don't give old fatwas. Need new ones.

Issue 620: * It is obligatory to bury a dead body in the ground, so deep that its smell does not come out and the beasts of prey do not dig it out, and, if there is a danger of such beasts digging it out then the grave should be made solid with bricks, etc.

https://www.al-islam.org/islamic-laws-ayatullah-ali-al-husayni-al-sistani/taharat#rules-about-burial-dead-body

[Anonymous]

1 minute ago, E.L King said:

Issue 620: * It is obligatory to bury a dead body in the ground, so deep that its smell does not come out and the beasts of prey do not dig it out, and, if there is a danger of such beasts digging it out then the grave should be made solid with bricks, etc.

https://www.al-islam.org/islamic-laws-ayatullah-ali-al-husayni-al-sistani/taharat#rules-about-burial-dead-body

Thank you. ^ This fatwa is from ancient time. Please ask the 2 questions in the OP to Ayatullah Khamenei to see if he will make an exception from the old rulings. 

[Sumerian]

On 2/6/2017 at 2:56 AM, Anonymous said:

Thank you. ^ This fatwa is from ancient time. Please ask the 2 questions in the OP to Ayatullah Khamenei to see if he will make an exception from the old rulings. 

The same fatwa is in Sistani's Al-Masa'il Al-Muntakhaba, the latest edition, thanks.

[Anonymous]

On 2/6/2017 at 3:16 AM, E.L King said:

The same fatwa is in Sistani's Al-Masa'il Al-Muntakhaba, the latest edition, thanks.

Isn't Ayatullah Sistani's Masai'l Al-Muntakhaba written before the Ebola virus? The questions in the OP have not been asked from the maraja yet. 

[Sumerian]

1 minute ago, Anonymous said:

Isn't Ayatullah Sistani's Masai'l Al-Muntakhaba written before the Ebola virus? The questions in the OP have not been asked from the maraja yet. 

If there are no changes to the fatwa the ruling stays current.

But the O.P's question is really unique (ebola) and I just realised that, I suggest he or she contacts their marja's office.

[Anonymous]

The OP wants someone to ask Ayatullah Khamenei but it would be very informative if we have other maraja reply as well. 

[saas]

Maybe consult with a med professional too. For example, what measures can be taken to eliminate the chance of contracting the disease from the deceased. Maybe it's as simple as using gloves or other protective guards. These would be special circumstances, hence if possible, would require special care.

What is confirmed is cremation being sacrilege and forbidden. Whether special circumstances apply, the Marja or his aids would also first consult with professionals in the Med field before concluding. If ebola patients can be treated and managed with their hygiene and well-being, likewise, it would be possible to deal with the deceased much with the provisions and precautions. 

[ShiaChat Mod]

@narsis used to answer questions according to different scholars. Really miss him. 

[Anonymous]

This topic still needs help. Two questions in the OP for Ayatullah Khamenei.

[wmehar2]

God will put anyone back together again no matter how scares his/her remains were scattered to face judgment.

I do not believe it takes a scholar/fatwa to make a judgment call on cremating/burning bodies of diseased when it comes to preserving your own life.

If we have to resort to desperate measures such as eating pork, and other what would be sinful acts to survive, burning diseased bodies (In the case you cannot safely extract and deposit the dead vessel into the earth) to avoid harmful disease/risking your own life should be okay by the same line of logic.

Allah SWT is not unkind and unmerciful and is unerring and the most fair.

[Anonymous]

On 2/15/2017 at 1:40 PM, wmehar2 said:

I do not believe it takes a scholar/fatwa to make a judgment call on cremating/burning bodies of diseased when it comes to preserving your own life.

The OP says that there is a need for Ayatullah Khamenei fatwa. Otherwise her relatives would 1) wash the body and 2) bury in the ground as Muslims normally do.

The relatives would not follow the wishes of the dead person without a fatwa to show them. 

The OP does not have Ebola. This is a hypothetical question. However, she wants to get exemption from washing the dead body and wants to be cremated because it is less expensive than burial. 

[wmehar2]

2 hours ago, Anonymous said:

The OP says that there is a need for Ayatullah Khamenei fatwa. Otherwise her relatives would 1) wash the body and 2) bury in the ground as Muslims normally do.

The relatives would not follow the wishes of the dead person without a fatwa to show them. 

The OP does not have Ebola. This is a hypothetical question. However, she wants to get exemption from washing the dead body and wants to be cremated because it is less expensive than burial. 

I think I understand, ... I'm not seeing where I misunderstood, unfortunately, and I do apologize if I have and apologize again if I still misunderstand.

I Guess my point is, is it not imperative that the OP or any person in general exorcise their rational faculties and make the decision that it's OK to NOT wash a diseased body and/or cremate it so that it does not infect others in the grand scheme of preserving life?

I don't think a scholarly exemption/ruling from Ayatullah Khamanei is rational/reasonable nor really commanding/authoritative as things are situational and sometimes ones own judgement needs to be used.

But since you're saying it's hypothetical, I guess it may be good to know beforehand anyway.  Though to be honest, I don't think the ruling would mean anything since we're talking about life and death here and it's risk.

Following the logic that Shia' may invoke Taqiyya to preserve one's life by concealing identity,  or that we can break religious ritual/rules to eat pork for example if our life is at jeopardy, it should stand to reason that no ruling would be required in the context of washing/cleansing a diseased virus and or cremating it.

There is no correct answer other than "If you fear exposure and risk to acquiring life threatening illness, do not wash it"  and "If you fear the body's condition may spread to others and must be dealt with by cremation, by all means do so"

If murder/killing a human being resulting in their death amounts to the death of all mankind, by all means do what we must to mitigate that sequence of events if we must break a rule or two.

[Hassan-]

On 2/18/2017 at 11:05 PM, Anonymous said:

The OP says that there is a need for Ayatullah Khamenei fatwa. Otherwise her relatives would 1) wash the body and 2) bury in the ground as Muslims normally do.

The relatives would not follow the wishes of the dead person without a fatwa to show them. 

The OP does not have Ebola. This is a hypothetical question. However, she wants to get exemption from washing the dead body and wants to be cremated because it is less expensive than burial. 

just ask him yourself here http://leader.ir/en/istifta

[Anonymous]

On 2/19/2017 at 2:13 AM, Hassan Y said:

just ask him yourself here http://leader.ir/en/istifta

Too shy to ask Ayatullah Khamenei.  

[Guest kareem]

On 2/15/2017 at 1:40 PM, wmehar2 said:

God will put anyone back together again no matter how scares his/her remains were scattered to face judgment.

I do not believe it takes a scholar/fatwa to make a judgment call on cremating/burning bodies of diseased when it comes to preserving your own life.

If we have to resort to desperate measures such as eating pork, and other what would be sinful acts to survive, burning diseased bodies (In the case you cannot safely extract and deposit the dead vessel into the Earth) to avoid harmful disease/risking your own life should be okay by the same line of logic.

Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is not unkind and unmerciful and is unerring and the most fair.

first and foremost shaytan used analogy and we know what went rong there--as expressed in one of the other reponses when that person was alive he/she was being taken care of and with whatever precautions and protective gear was used the same here should apply

[Hameedeh]

On 2/5/2017 at 4:52 PM, Anonymous said:

During the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, family members or others who washed the dead bodies became exposed to the virus and became ill. 

1. Can a Muslim be buried without being washed?

2. Can a Muslim be cremated to make sure that nobody is exposed to his/her illness?

Ayatullah Sistani, may Allah prolong his life, is not my marja, but last week (after the deaths of people from coronavirus) he answered a religious question about burying people who died from infectious disease. Obviously cremation is not allowed so that was not mentioned.

Question: What is the ruling on washing, shrouding, and burying the body of a dead person if the cause of death is an infectious virus (or other contagious pathogen) that requires caution and avoidance according to the religious edicts of his eminence Ayatullah al-Sayyid al-Sistani (may God prolong his life).

Answer: Any act that poses harm to the person who undertakes the preparation of the deceased [under such circumstances] is revoked. However, if it is possible to perform tayammum on the deceased, albeit wearing gloves, and shroud the body, even if with a plastic cover, it must be done. The funeral prayer and burial should be performed as required thereafter.

حكم غسل ودفن أجساد الموتى بالأمراض الْـمُـعدية

السؤال: كيف يمكن تغسيل وتكفين ودفن أجساد موتى المؤمنين فيما لو كان سبب الوفاة فايروس مُعدي يستوجب الحذر والإجتناب منه، وفقاً لرأي سماحة آية الله العظمى السيد السيستاني (مدّ ظلّه)؟

الجواب: كل ما يوجب الضّرر على المباشِر مِن أعمال التّجهيز يَسقُطُ. فإذا أمكن التيمّم ولو مع لبس الكفوف يُيَمَّمُ الميّت، وإذا أمكن التّكفين ولو فوق غطاء البلاستيك يُكفَّنُ ويُصلَّى عليه ويُدفَن.

The Religious Ruling on Funeral Rites for a Body with an Infectious Disease

[mostafaa]

Salam Alaykum

Ayt. Khamenei's answer to the question of how to perform ghust to a person who died as a result of an infectious virus: 

To die because of an infectious virus would not be a permission to leave out rulings related to the corpse. (Ghust, Takfin, tahnit, tadfin) therefore -observing all hygienic points and using safety equipment- it is obligatory to give a corpse who died as a result of an infectious virus three ghusl sequentially (even though it costs you more money). 

Then if it's not possible he should be given immersive ghusl ( irtimāsī ).

Then if it's not possible he should be given three tayammums instead of three prescribed ghusls. To perform tayammum instead of ghusl the one who performs tayammum on the corpse must strike the corpse's palms on the Earth and wipe them on the face and then on the back of the hands of the corpse.

One more point: Marja's opinions -related to performing tayammum on the corpse instead of ghusl- are different. Some like Ayt. Khamenei says that it has to be done with corpse's palms and others like Ayt. Sistani says that the one who performs tayammum on the corpse must strike his palms on the Earth.

The following is Farsi question asked from his office which I have translated:

 سؤال: اگر شخصی بر اثر بیماری واگیردار کرونا ویروس که طبق نظر متخصصان، سرایت سریعی دارد، فوت کند در خصوص غسل ، کفن و نماز چنین میتی وظیفه چیست ؟

 جواب: مجرد ابتلای به این بیماری، موجب سقوط  احکام واجب مربوط به میت نمی شود؛ بنابراین با مراعات کامل نکات بهداشتی و استفاده از تجهیزات ایمنی – هر چند با صرف هزینه – باید حداقل واجب در مورد غسل، حنوط، کفن، نماز_میت و دفن انجام گیرد.
در صورت عدم امکان غسل_ترتیبی، باید به صورت ارتماسی، غسل داده شود و در صورت عدم امکان غسل، با دست میت، میت را به ترتیب، بدل از غسل با آب و سدر، غسل با آب و کافور و غسل با آب خالص، تیمم داده و حنوط  کنند و - هر چند از روی لباس - کفن کرده و دفن نمایند.

Edited March 18, 2020 by mostafaa

[mostafaa]

1 hour ago, mostafaa said:

One more point: Marja's opinions -related to performing tayammum on the corpse instead of ghusl- are different. Some like Ayt. Khamenei says that it has to be done with corpse's palms and others like Ayt. Sistani says that the one who performs tayammum on the corpse must strike his palms on the Earth.

Ayt. Sistani's exact view regarding performing tayammum on the corpse instead of ghusl: 

Quote

Ruling 556. ....... Furthermore, if one does not find water or if there is an obstacle to using water, he must perform one tayammum on the corpse instead of giving it ghusl; and the recommended precaution is to perform three tayammums on it.

Ruling 557. Someone who performs tayammum on a corpse must strike his own palms on the Earth, and then wipe them on the face and on the back of the hands of the corpse.

if it is possible, the recommended precaution is to perform tayammum using the hands of the corpse.

And ayt. Khameni's exact view in the regard is: 

The one who performs tayammum strikes the corpe's palms on the Earth and then wipe them on the corpe's face and back of hands.

If it is possible, the recommended precaution is to perform tayammum using the hands of the corpse and the alive person.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all. It is good to know that our marāji are available to answer our questions. May Allah keep them healthy and lengthen their lives. 

[Anonymous]

On 3/18/2020 at 12:32 PM, Anonymous said:

Thank you all. It is good to know that our maraji are available to answer our questions. May Allah keep them healthy and lengthen their lives. 

Condolences for Ayatullah Khamenei RA.   

[Abu Hassanain]

Salam

further back at mentioned cremation being cheaper than burial this is not an excuse to do cremation

In some places where there was outbreak of deadly disease where the body is very infectious, they would wear like hazmat suits and do ghusul 

Obviously, in many places that are out first or second world, this isn’t possible

That’s why the above legal rules go step-by-step

For some places, I’ve heard the governments were allowing families to stay so far back with hygienic precautions, and simply pray over the bodies before they were burned. This was in some Asian countries, and the government didn’t allow touching the bodies.

The principal is something is better than nothing and you have to do whatever you’re able to do even if it’s just prayer before they throw them in the ovens 

You have to choose to implement as much as possible what you’re able to implement and what you can’t you’re not responsible for

wallahu Alam 

[Hameedeh]

On 2/19/2017 at 1:13 AM, Hassan- said:

just ask him yourself here http://leader.ir/en/istifta

Salam. In order to ask a question you need to register an account? It's asking for The user page (log in?). If you do not have a user account, register your name in membership page:

Thank you to everyone who asks questions for those who are too shy to do it. @mostafaa 

[Hameedeh]

On 2/12/2017 at 12:17 AM, ShiaChat Mod said:

@narsis used to answer questions according to different scholars. Really miss him. 

In 2014, Brother Narsis replied that cremation was not allowed, but he did not elaborate. I think the OP did not realize that when she started this topic.

https://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235025954-cremation-for-muslims-due-to-ebola-allowed/

[Abu Hassanain]

1 hour ago, Hameedeh said:

In 2014, Brother Narsis replied that cremation was not allowed, but he did not elaborate. I think the OP did not realize that when she started this topic.

https://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235025954-cremation-for-muslims-due-to-ebola-allowed/

Salam

in a situation where the government mandated it and burn the bodies, whether you can sense or not to the fear of spreading disease, it would be all right, and hopefully they would let you wash the body if not, at least pray over it from a distance

Cremating bodies due to plague or running out of room in semi cemeteries theoretically could be allowed if the government didn’t allow burial as well

But she’s burning bodies for cheapness or unfounded fear is not allowed
 

I think when the brother was responding from the 2000s to 2014 about these different issues you haven’t had Covid yet you hadn’t had these mega Ebola outbreaks

In the case where there’s not much chance of getting a disease from the dead body, we should bury definitely theoretically if it’s very likely you could get a certain disease from a dead body and there’s no way to take precautions then you could burn them

Generally, if there’s a lot of bodies and not a risk of getting a disease from the bodies mask, graves can be used

Majority of the martyrs of Karbalah around 66 of them were buried in a single grave

with Abbas Hurr Abdallah Habib Ali Akbar peace be on them all I don’t know having separate graves

Umm Wahab and Umm Rabab I said to be buried in separate graves as well in some reports peace on them both

I saw the conditions would have to be very very strict and as of now you don’t have too many rulings from juris on these issues outside of Theo radical discussions in the seminary because there hasn’t been a specific type of outbreak this widespread or bad for this to be a practical issue to give us a specific ruling on

Another example is this is this discussion in the seminary about taping a prayer stone to the outside of your space or scuba suit about if you were in a river and it was all water and the time you walk to the land the prayers will be out could you make prostration on the Earth under the water and quickly stand up if it doesn’t cause harm or which direction you face on another planet so these issues are there and discussed, but they’re not their theoretical discussions of the third level of the seminary, and generally these rollings aren’t put in roll books or question-and-answer books for the masses because they’re not generally active equitableaoplicable 

wallahu Alam