The Green Islamic Foundation

Something came to my attention at the funeral of my cousin that occurred on 24-June-2025/28 Dhul Hijjah 1446 AH. It actually caused me pause at the moment, however the affect of what occurred upon others that attended disturbed me. There was no need to argue or request further clarification at the time. Now that I’ve had time to review the matter a little more deeply, I will elucidate and clarify.

Preface

The funeral process (Janazah) in Islam is extensive. It is not complicated, however, in order to perform the obligatory and recommended acts for the deceased, one must study. This process is covered under the science or discipine of Islamic law otherwise known as fiqh. The process is laid to bare in the chapter of prayer in most intermediate and advanced fiqh manuals in every madhhab. There are generally four obligations that the living must perform for the deceased:
1. Washing the deceased.
2. Shrouding the deceased.
3. Praying over the deceased.
4. Burying the deceased.

I may publish a detailed explanation of all four of these obligations that must be performed for the dead at a later date. The ruling for a Janazah is that it is a communal obligation (fard kifayah). A communal obligation is an act that should be done by members of a community and that does not have to be performed by every member of the community. However, if there is no one in a community that is knowledgeable and qualified enough to perform the task, then the entire community is sinful.

The Issue:

At the time of the actual burying, in the cemetary, it was said that women were not allowed to place dirt on the deceased. It was also recommended that when doing it, one was supposed to throw three handfuls of dirt upon the grave of the deceased, reciting the Basmalah (Bismillahi Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem) or In the Name of Allah The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful. This did not sit right with me at the time. I, myself did not follow some of these instructions. I later was informed that some of my female family members, at the instruction provided, ceased from attempting to participate in this part of the Janazah.

Clarification:

Upon returning home from all of the activities that followed the Janazah, I was resolute in researching this matter to ensure that the instructions that were given came from a sound position in the Islamic scholarly tradition. My research extended to several books in all four madhahib. Included were the following:
• Siraj As Saalik, an intermediate text in the Maliki School,
• Maraqi Falah and Mukhtasar Quduri, intermediate texts in the Hanafi school,
• Matn Abi Shuja, Reliance of the Traveler and At-Tadhkirah fi al fiqh (translated by Musa Furber), intermediate texts in the Shafi Madhhab.
• Zad al Mustaqni’ (translated by Musa Furber), a beginner text in the Hanbali Madhhab
• The Fiqh of Worship (translated and commentary by Dr. Hatem al-Haj), in the Hanbali/ comparative fiqh tradition.

None of these works mentioned a prohibition upon women throwing dirt on the deceased or a dislike (makruh) or prohibitive (haram) nature in women participating the Janazah process at the cemetery as as long as they did not wail and scream (these are the acts that would be disliked at the burial of the deceased).

Women, especially relatives and those near the grave are permitted to throw dirt upon the grave of the deceased. The ruling of doing such an act is that it is recommended (mandub). When doing so, it is also recommended to recite a portion from Surah Ta Ha verse 55 with every handful,
Ta-Ha (20:55)

۞ مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ ٥٥

From the earth We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you back again.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
https://quran.com/20/55

• During the first handful, it is recommended to recite, “منها خلقناكم” – “From it We created you,”
• During the second handful, it is recommended to recite, “و فيها نعيدكم” – ” And Into it We will return you,”
• During the third handful, it is recommended to recite, “و منها نخرجكم تارة اخرى” – ” And from it We will bring you back again.”

Although my research was not a deep dive into the inner workings of every madhhab, I do believe that it was sufficient enough to clarify this issue. I pray that whenever we are tasked to fulfil these last rites upon our deceased that we will be much more prepared and knowledgeable during each part of the process.

As for me, I also followed up this small study with consultation with one of my primary teachers in fiqh to ensure that I understand the matter properly. He confirmed that both are permissible only if the women are able to control their emotions and they keep away from excessive wailing and excessive show of emotions. Otherwise, it would be makruh (disliked) but not necessarily prohibited. Some scholars have opinions that it may be or is prohibited, however, that is not the prevailing opinion. Allah knows best.

If you have any comments, questions, clarifications or concerns about the above information, please feel free to reach out to me at lavon.brown@thegreenislamicfoundation.org.

BiSalaam,

Lavon Luther Brown

The Executive Director of The Green Islamic Foundation