Is burial at night permissible?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Funerals

Book 7 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

Burial at night is permissible. This view is held by Ahmad, who stated there is no issue with it. Historical precedent supports this, as Abu Bakr and Ali buried Fatima at night. The tradition regarding the Prophet's burial confirms activity late at night, as Aisha reported hearing the sound of scraping tools late in the night during the Prophet's burial. Those who permit it include Uqba ibn Amer, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Attah, al-Thawri, al-Shafi'i, and Ishaq. Furthermore, evidence shows the Prophet entered a grave at night, lit a lamp, and prayed for the deceased from the direction of the Qibla, with al-Tirmidhi grading this hadith as Hasan (good). The Prophet's non-denial when informed of a man buried the previous night and his subsequent prayer over him also supports permissibility. Burial at night is analogous to daytime burial since both are valid times for burial, and any objection derived from the prohibition hadith is interpreted as being for admonition or distaste rather than absolute prohibition.

Supporting text

The burial at night was disliked by al-Hasan due to a tradition reported by Muslim in his Sahih, where the Prophet rebuked the burial of a man at night unless necessitated by extreme duress. Ahmad himself reportedly leaned toward this view at one point.