To carry the corpse, you first take the front, right hand side of the corpse on your right shoulder and walk ten steps. Then, taking the hind part of the coffin where the (corpse's) right leg is, you carry it for ten more steps. Then, changing to the left hand side of the corpse, which is the right hand side of the coffin when looked from the rear, you carry it on your left shoulder, ten steps by the front and ten steps by the back of the coffin. All these add up to forty steps. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, "If a person carries the janaza (corpse) for forty steps, forty of his grave sins shall be forgiven."

When seeing a janaza, Muslims who happen to be in a store, in a cafe, etc. should at least carry it forty steps, walk behind it for a while, and say the Fatiha and other prayers for his soul. It is written in Maraq-il-falah and Halabi-i kabir that when seeing the janaza it is tahrimi makruh to stand up and wait with your face towards it. After carrying the janaza you should walk behind it.

Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) carried the janaza of Sad bin Muaz (radiallahu 'anh). What a great fortune!

It is makruh to carry the janaza in a manner called Baynal 'amudein, which means two people carrying it, one person in front and the other in back, similar to carrying a stretcher. It is sunnat to carry it in a manner called tarbi' (four-sided) as is being done today, that is, on the shoulders and by holding on to the wooden shafts. You do not pass the shaft between your arm and your shoulder; you hold it by the shaft with your hand and take it on your shoulder. It is not permissible to carry the janaza on your back or on a beast's back.

[Unless there is a strong necessity, it is karih (repugnant, unbecoming) to carry the janaza on a carriage or in a car, which is a disbelievers' custom; it tortures and harms the dead person; those who carry it in this manner become sinful. It is a grave sin to abandon Islamic customs and adopt disbelievers' customs. During the times of our Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaba ('alaihimurridwan) corpses were carried only in a manner called tarbi'. If government regulations order the coffin to be carried on a hearse, obedience is necessary.]

A suckling, or a child slightly bigger, can be carried by one person, on both hands. This person (carrying the child's corpse) may as well be on an animal. Big children are carried in coffins.

The janaza must be carried with such speed as not to joggle the corpse.

It is makruh to delay the janaza till after Friday prayer so that the jamaat will be large. If it is feared that Friday prayer may be missed because of the time spent for the burial, then the salat of janaza can be delayed till after Friday prayer. [It is not permissible to delay the janaza till the following day so that his relatives living in distant places will be present too].

The salat of 'Iyd is performed before the salat of janaza, and the salat of janaza is performed before the khutba of 'Iyd. People waiting for the salat of janaza in the musalla do not stand up before the janaza is put on the ground. It is written in Surrat-ul- fatawa, "Those who sit in the musalla should not stand up when the janaza is brought there."

Those who attend a funeral should walk close behind the janaza. It is sunnat-i muakkada to attend a funeral. According to Shafi'i Madhhab you walk ahead of the janaza. Women do not attend funerals. The janaza is carried silently. It is bidat, sinful to say takbirs, tahlils, ilahis loudly. You should not forsake a funeral that has such bidats, but you should prevent them if possible. However, it is necessary to give up a feast that has such bidats. Though it is permissible to walk in front of the janaza or beside it, it is better to walk behind it.

It is permissible to have one's grave dug while one is alive. If the grave is on your property (land), it will belong to you. If it is not in your property or if you have not bought your grave in the cemetery, someone else may be buried there as well.

It is necessary and sunnat and very useful to bury the corpse in a large cemetery. It must be buried near (the graves of) salihs (pious Muslims) and Awliya 'rahmat-ullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain.' The grave must be far away from the graves of sinners and fajirs and, especially, from the graves of disbelievers and renegades. It is not good to bury the corpse at a dank place. It must be buried at a dry place if possible. Burying it at a dank place causes it to rot fast. In Islam the corpse should rot late. If the earth is dank or loose it is good to bury the corpse in a coffin.

To carry flowers and garlands with the janaza, to put them on the grave, to wear badges, signs and pictures of mourning are disbelievers' customs. It is haram for Muslims to do such things, and they are harmful to the dead person, too. It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, which is transmitted by Ibn Maja and written in Kunuz-ud daqaiq: "Do not take the janaza (to the cemetery) with noise, fire, lights or other things." It is good to lay a piece of silk or other kind of cloth on a grave that is in a room-like tomb, or to sprinkle rose leaves on the cloth, and thus to give it an odorous scent. That this is permissible is written in the Persian book Tahqiq-ul haqq-il mubin, by Ahmad Said-i Sarhandi 'rahmat- ullahi ta'ala 'alaih.'

It is fard-i kifaya to dig a grave and to bury the corpse in the grave. [If the number of Muslims required to bury the corpse is not sufficient, it will then become fard for anyone who has been informed of the death to be present at the burial ceremony. If nobody can be found to do the service free and paid grave-diggers are hired, then every Muslim who didn't serve despite having information will be sinful. They will become fasiqs. To bury the corpse, like performing the salat of janaza, is an 'ibadat. It is fard to do such an 'ibadat free of charge. Any payment received will become haram. It is permissible for poor people to do such a fard in return for money if nobody can be found to do such a service free and in order to avoid the risk of not providing the service to Muslim corpses. Payment received by these people will become halal, but those who shun from the service will not escape the fisq; they will become sinful. Since burying the deceased person's body into soil is fard, anyone who shuns this responsibility by underestimating the fard and argues that it would be fundamentalism to bury a corpse or that it would be better to cremate it like the disbelievers called Buddhists, Hindus and Communists, or by scientific reasoning, will lose his iman (belief) and become a murtad.]

It is not permissible to put it on the ground, in a building, or in marble without digging the earth. If it is not possible to take a person to land who has died on a ship, it is not fard to bury him. Two people cannot be buried in one grave unless it is inevitable. Before a corpse has rotted and its bones have become earth, someone else's corpse cannot be buried in its grave. If it is impossible to dig another grave, the bones (of the former) are put together (on one side of the grave) and earthed up; then the latter can be buried in the other side of the grave. When the corpse rots and changes into earth, another corpse can be buried in the grave. If the plot of land does not belong to Waqf and if it is someone's property, the owner can use this land as a field or build a house on it. The fatwa states so, too. It is written in the section about manual afflictions in Hadiqa, "After the corpse has rotted and become earth, it is permissible to bury someone else in its grave or to cultivate the place of the grave or to build a house on it." If graves remain under the waters of a flood or river, it is not permissible to unearth the corpses (or bones) to bury them somewhere else." If an abandoned cemetery of disbelievers no longer bears any sign of disbelievers, believers may be buried or a mosque may be built there. As a matter of fact, the building plot of Masjid an-Nabi in Medina used to be the disbelievers' cemetery. The graves were dug, the bones were taken out and buried somewhere else.

It is written in Jami'ul-fatawa, "The depth of the grave must be equal to the length between a man's chest and feet. It is better if it is as deep as a man's height." The grave must be deep so that water will not leak into it, scent will not ooze out of it, and beasts will not be able to dig it up. It must be equal to the corpse's height in length, and its width must be half its length. The grave's length must be perpendicular to the direction of qibla. It is sunnat to make a lahd. A lahd is a niche dug on the qibla side of the grave and all along the grave. It must be large enough to receive the corpse in width and depth, after the grave has been dug. The corpse is put on its right side in the lahd. You do not make a shaq (furrow), that is, you do not dig a trench along the middle of the grave already dug and put the corpse in it. If the earth is weak and damp, you put the corpse with the coffin in the niche or directly in the grave. If the soil is dry and strong, it is makruh to bury a man together with the coffin. It is makruh to spread such things as felts or mats under the corpse. If you bury it with its coffin, you must put some soil in the coffin. It is always very good to bury women's corpses in their coffins.

If a person dies on a ship and if his corpse may putrefy before the ship reaches land, he is washed and shrouded and his salat is performed; then, if disbelievers' land is close by, the corpse is put into the sea with some heavy object tied to the shroud. If you are closer to the Muslims' coast, you do not tie a heavy object to the shroud.

It is not permissible to bury the corpse of a person in the room where he died. It must not be buried near a school or tekke, either; it must be taken to a Muslim cemetery. It is written in Shir'at-ul Islam: "When the janaza is put on the ground near the grave, those who do not help with the work should sit or squat down. They should not stand like Jews and Christians. It is mustahab to recite seven suras as the corpse is buried. These seven suras are Inna andhalna, Kafirun, Idha jaeh, Ikhlas, the two suras beginning with Qul a'udhu, and Fatiha. Also, it is mustahab to give alms and present the thawab to the dead person's soul every day for one week after the burial."

An odd or even number of people approach the grave, turn towards the qibla, take the corpse, which has been placed on the qibla side of the grave and lengthwise parallel to the grave, and put it in the grave or in the lahd with its face towards the qibla. When doing this they say the prayer, "Bismillah wa billah wa 'ala millat-i Rasulillah, sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam." They do not say the adhan. The corpse's face is turned towards the inside of the lahd, and earth and sun-dried bricks are put behind it. Then the grave is filled with earth. It is not permissible to reopen the grave to turn the corpse towards the qibla if it has been placed the other way round. For, it is haram to reopen a grave. It can be reopened to take something left in the grave. The ends of the shroud are undone in the grave.

It is written in Mizan-ul kubra, "It is unanimously stated by the four Madhhabs that the grave side of the lahd is covered with sun-dried bricks or a mat. It is makruh to cover it with baked bricks or with wood. [Nails, baked things such as bricks are ornamental items. It is makruh to use them for a corpse]. It is permissible to cover the outer part of the grave with bricks, wood, or marble stones. The blessed lahd of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) was covered with nine sun-dried bricks. If a woman's corpse is interred without a coffin, a large piece of cloth must be used as a curtain."

The grave is covered with earth. The top of the grave must not be more than a span above ground level. It is mustahab to cast three handfuls of earth on top of the grave from the head side.

After the burial, it is mustahab to sit around the grave for a few minutes, or to read (or recite) the beginning and final parts of the Surat-al Baqara, and to pray and do istighfar for the dead person. [Christians stand by the grave and pronounce benedictions. Muslims should not say their prayers standing like priests. They should squat and then say their prayers. It will be of great use if some pious Muslims perform khatm and khatm-i tahlil gratis by dividing the business among themselves and send the thawab to the dead person's soul; they may do this by coming together in the home of one of them as well as by every one doing it in his own home. [It is disbelievers' custom to make speeches by the grave. It is not permissible to make speeches like disbelievers or to praise the dead person with such attributes as he did not actually possess. And it is useless and unnecessary to praise him (or her) with attributes that he (or she) had. It is permissible to weep for the dying person. It is written in Sharh-us-sudur and Barakat that "Heavens weep for the death of a believer." It is not permissible to cry loudly for a dead person, to mourn, to wear black clothes, to hang black curtains, rosettes, ornaments, to bear mourning badges or the dead person's photographs. It is written in Khazanat-ur riwayat, "It is not permissible to cover the janaza or the place of the janaza with black clothes or to wear black clothes."]

It is sunnat to pour water on the grave. It is not sunnat in Hanafi Madhhab to make the top of the grave straight. It is sunnat to make it protuberant and round like the ridge of a fish. It is not permissible to whitewash the inside of the grave with lime or to paint it. It is written towards the end of Halabi al-kabir that it is permissible in Hanafi Madhhab to make mausoleums or buildings over the graves of savants and great men of the religion in order to protect them. This is written also in Mizan and at the end of Uqud-ud-durriyya. But it is haram to make them for adornment. It is permissible to protect the grave by making a stone and cement wall or iron railing around it.

It is permissible to place tombstones over graves. It is not permissible to inscribe ayats, blessed names, poems, eulogies, the word Fatiha or to put the dead person's picture on the stone. Such things are bad bidats, though they have been done for years. Bad customs are not necessarily permissible. They (savants) said that it is permissible to write the person's name and the hijri date of his death on the tombstone.

When an expectant mother dies, if the child is alive, her womb is cleaved on the left side and the child is taken out. If an expectant mother's child dies inside the womb and if it will cause the mother's death, an obstetrician inserts her hand through the vagina, cuts the child to pieces with her implements, and takes it out. If the child will cause the mother's death though it is alive, it is not permissible to cut [kill] the child. For, it is not known for certain that it will cause the mother's death; it is an anticipated probability. It is not permissible to kill a human being to prevent an anticipated danger. If a person swallows someone else's property and then dies, and if he has no other property to pay for it, his abdomen is cleft and the property is taken out.

There is more thawab for men in attending their neighbor's, relative's or friend's funeral than in performing supererogatory worship.

It is mustahab to bury the janaza in the city where he or she died. It is permissible to take the corpse to a two or four kilometer distance. The janazas of Yaqub and Yusuf 'alaihim as-salam' (the Prophets Jacob and Joseph) were transported from Egypt to Damascus, but transportation (of corpses) was permissible in their Sharias (canon laws). It is written in the fifth volume of Radd-ul mukhtar that transportation is not permissible after the burial. It is batil (invalid) to will (in your last request) to be transported to somewhere else.

When you meet a young or old male member or an old female member of a bereaved family it is sunnat to afford consolation to him. The condolatory statement is a certain Arabic expression: "AzamAllahu ajrak wa ahsana aza-ak wa ghafara li-mayyitik," which means, "May Allahu ta'ala add to your thawabs, promote your grade, and give you beautiful patience, and may He forgive the sins of the mayyit (dead person)." There is no thawab for disasters and grievances; there is thawab for being patient about them. But they will cause the forgiveness of your sins even if you are not patient about your grievances. Illness is a grievance, too. It is permissible for the bereaved person to stay at some place for less than three days for consolation; but it is not permissible to stay in a mosque, and women are not permitted to stay anywhere (for consolation). Prayers are said after the burial, and (sections from) the Qur'an al-karim are read or recited silently. It is makruh to read them loudly. Then the jamaat and the bereaved must leave for their work.

It is makruh to offer consolation after the third day (of the death). But it is not makruh for those who are far away and those who have heard of the death later. Also, it is makruh to offer consolation twice, to do it by the grave, in the dead person's home or at his door. Consolation can be done by letter as well.

It is mustahab for the neighbors and the nearby relatives to send a day - and - night's food to the bereaved family. When Jafar-i Tayyar (radiallahu 'anh) was martyred with more than seventy wounds with swords and arrows, Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) commanded food to be sent to his home. It is makruh and an ugly bidat to dole out food, such as sweetmeat, from the bereaved home. It is makruh to make such things as sweetmeat and shortbread on the first, third, seventh, [fortieth or fifty-third] day, to mete out food by the grave, or to invite hafizes, khodjas, reciters of mawlid and have them read (or recite) (religious poems, etc.), and give feasts. Such things are being done mostly for ostentation and fame. Whilst these bidats are being done many harams are being committed as well. Also, it is batil (invalid) to will (in your last request) that these things be done. (Such wills) are not to be obeyed, for it is sinful. You must not wait until the fortieth day; you must make such presents as prayers, khatms and alms and have the congregational prayers such as the mawlid performed, provided men and women will not gather together at the same place on the very first day of the death. The thawab (for pious acts) must be sent as presents to the dead person's soul.

It is sinful to hold meetings incompatible with the Sharia for the dead in mosques and to have a mawlid recited in those meetings. As it is sinful for women and men to sit together for other occasions, it is worse for them to come together for a mawlid. To commit sins in acts of worships is worse than committing them otherwise. It is for these reasons that it is forbidden to perform salat at three haram times. There is no thawab for the salat performed at a forbidden time or place, yet it is sinful. For, it has been performed despite the prohibition. It has been forbidden for women and men to sit together. This prohibition will be more sinful if it is committed in an act of worship in mosques.

It is sunnat to do talqin [Prompting the articles of iman to the deceased person, so that he may answer the interrogating angels.] [standing against the qibla and the grave] after the burial. It has been said (by savants) that it might as well not be done. It is said in the book Majma-ul Anhur, "It was said that it would be possible to do talqin even after death. For the soul and wisdom are given back, and the deceased one understands the talqin. The same applies in the Madhhab of Shafi'i. Although some savants argued that talqin has neither been commanded nor forbidden, (therefore it is not permissible), it would be better to do it." It is written in the book Jawhara that it would be legitimate to do talqin to the deceased in the grave. In the book Nur-ul yaqin fi mabhas-it talqin, it is proved with various evidence that it is sunnat to do the talqin. It is written in Jila-ul qulub and Ghaliyya that: "Rasulullah ('alaihissalatu wassalam) commanded talqin to be done after the burial. And he himself performed the talqin." It is written in detail in the comments on the book Birghiwi Vasiyetnamesi by Kadizada how the talqin is to be done. There is no need to do talqin to people who will not be interrogated in the grave. It is written in Siraj, "The savants of Ahl- as sunnat unanimously declare that all people will be questioned in the grave. A dead child will be inspired as to how to answer by Allahu ta'ala." Ibn Abdul Berr and Imam-i Suyuti say that, "Only the Ahl-i qibla will be questioned, whether they be true believers or hypocrites." Accordingly, the report stating that Hadrat 'Umar was questioned and giving a quotation of his answers is correct. Muhammad bin Alqami, a disciple of Suyuti, passed away in 929 hijri. He says in his explanation of his master's book of ahadith, Jami'us saghir: "Disbelievers are not questioned in the grave. Of believers, nine kinds of people are not questioned in their grave: a martyr, a person who dies while keeping guard against the enemy, a person who dies of an epidemic disease such as plague or cholera, a person who does not flee when such a disease spreads, who waits patiently and then dies for some other reason, Siddiqs, children who have not reached the age of puberty, those who die on Friday or on Friday night (the night between Thursday and Friday), those who read the Surat-at Tabaraka [and the Surat-as Sajda] every night, those who read the Surat-al Ikhlas on their deathbed are not questioned in their grave. Prophets ('alaihimussalam) are included among the Siddiqs." A deceased person who has remained in his coffin for a few days is not questioned. The questioning is done in the grave. Kadizada Ahmad Effendi says in the book Amantu sharhi, which is named Faraid-ul- fawaid, "The questions are on some of the articles of iman or on various articles of iman and deeds; or different people are asked different questions." The book Iman ve Ibadat, by Mudarris Muhammad Demir Hafiz, was published in 1344 [1926], and was authorized by the committee of scrutiny of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It is written in that book, "The following must be memorized for answering the angels of Munkar and Nakir in the grave: My Rab (Creator, Owner) is Allahu ta'ala, my Prophet is Muhammad 'alaihissalam', my Din (religion) is Islam, my (holy) Book is the Qur'an-i 'aziymushshan, my Qibla is the Kaba-i Sharif, my Madhhab in belief is Ahl as-sunnat wal jamaat, my Madhhab in deeds is Imam-i azam Abu Hanifa." Ahmad Asim Effendi says in the explanation of Amali, "Even if a corpse was broken into pieces and then eaten by wolves, or burned in a fire, or decayed in the sea, he will certainly be questioned and will suffer the torment or enjoy the blessings of the grave. Disbelievers and fasiqs who die without repentance will suffer torment in the grave. It is said in hadith-i sharifs that, "The grave will be either a garden out of heaven's gardens or a pit out of hell's pits." and "We trust ourselves to Allah from suffering torment in the grave." and "Don't splash urine on yourself. Most people will suffer torment in the grave because of this." and "The deceased person feels annoyance with the wailing of his spouse and children." Rasulullah (sallallahi 'alaihi wasallam) was standing beside two graves when he said, "These two people are suffering torment in their graves, one of them because of not being careful about splashing urine, and the other one due to the gossip he spread among Muslims." No matter at what age they die, both the men and the women in Paradise will be thirty-three years old.