Ghaus Siwani / Abdul Hai Khan?New Delhi

Muslim cemeteries are running out of space as the bodies of Covid-dead person are being lowered in the graves one after another. Muslims often have to think of where to bury the dead in case their neighbourhood graveyard has put up a no capacity board.

In fact the shortage of burial space has become serious in big cities in this pandemic situation.

It’s the worst ever situation in the national capital Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai. Awaz-the Voice tried to find out the Shariah rules on such an exigency by speaking to religious scholars. We also looked at somefatwas and spoke with muftis who specialize in Islamic sciences to find the way out of this tricky situation.

The scholars unanimously decided that the old tombs could be reused. However, they should be old enough for the body buried inside to have melted in the elements of nature. If the half putrefied bones come out of the grave, these must be re-buried with due respect to the dead.

A Fatwa of Deoband

A fatwa of Darul Uloom Deoband says “the graves that are very old, about which there is a piece of strong evidence that the bodies have completely disappeared, should be used for re-burials. This is permissible according to Shariah, especially when there is no other cemetery nearby for burial. "

The question is in how many days does a human body decay? In this regard, Darul Uloom, Deoband has another fatwa which states that "usually in 15 years the dead turn to dust."

Although the current situation is very difficult and the way deaths are happening due to Covid-19, one can’t wait even wait for 15 days, not to speak of 15 years.

The frequency of burials has paved the way for machines to enter graveyard for digging fresh graves.

Mufti Muhammad Mushtaq Tujarvi, an Islamic scholar and professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, says that there is a long history in the books of old jurisprudence, but this issue was written at a time when the population was small and there was plenty of space. In the present era, the return of an old tomb should be waited for only as long as it is believed that the body of a dead person buried would have turned to dust.

We asked him what should be considered an average duration for believing the body has gone to the dust. He said that in different parts of the world there may be different times for the decaying of flesh. In warmer climates, the body melts faster, while in colder climates it can last for years.

Lay the rafters between the graves

On the other hand, Mufti Niaz Ahmed of Darul Uloom Nadwa Ulema, Darul Qaza of Lucknow says in this regard that if a graveyard is full of graves, then old graves can be demolished. He also said that in case of compulsion, the dead could be buried by placing stones in the same grave.

Maulana Muhammad Ismail Falahi, the former lecturer of Jamiat-ul-Falah, Azamgarh, almost said the same thing. He also said that one solution to the shortage of graveyards was to build large graves and bury many dead in one grave. Islam allows mass graves to be built in certain circumstances. He further said that the present situation is different from the general situation, in which case the Ulema should perform Ijtihad.

In some countries, chemicals are also used to decompose corpses as quickly as possible. In this regard, he said that this cannot be done, the body should be left to decompose naturally.

Demolition of old graves?

Mufti Muhammad Sharif Khan Qasmi, superintendent of Darul Uloom Zakariyabad, said that in the current situation, old graves can be demolished and new ones built. He also reiterated that old graves can be dug only when the bodies are completely dissolved.

In the meanwhile, the old cemetery at Okhla in Delhi was reopened for burials on Sunday.

Local MLA Amanatullah Khan took the initiative of reopening the cemetery at Batla House and shared this development on Twitter:

आज बाटला हाऊस कब्रिस्तान में जगह न होने की वजह से साथ में ही बंद पड़े कब्रिस्तान को खुलवा कर सफाई शुरु करवाई, जिसको आने वाले दिनों में दफिना के लिए खोल दिया जाएगा।
इस महामारी से बहुत से अज़ीज बिछड़ गए और कई इससे जूझ रहे हैं, मेरी आप से गुज़ारिश है कि कोरोना से अपनी हिफाज़त करें। pic.twitter.com/J5kt7i2Vry

— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) May 1, 2021

Khan said the burials can start in this place after the clearing work in completed.