Covering the body of the deceased with a cloth upon which are verses from the Qur.aan

Reference: al-Bid’u wal-Muhdathaat wa maa laa Asla lahu – Page 303
Fataawa at-Ta’ziyyah – Page 22

Question: In some places, when the people carry the deceased to the prayer and then from there to the graveyard, they cover the body (coffin) with a cloth upon which is written Aayatul-Kursee or other different verses from the Noble Qur.aan. Does this act have any basis in the Sharee’ah?

Response: There is no basis for this act in the Sharee’ah, i.e. there is no basis for covering the body (coffin) with a cloth upon which are written verses from the Qur.aan. Rather, in reality, it is in contempt with the Speech of Allaah (‘Azza wa Jall) by placing a cover over the deceased as it has no benefit for the deceased at all. So, based upon this, it is obligatory to avoid this [for a number of reasons]:

Firstly: Because this is not from the act of the Pious Predecessors;

Secondly: Because there occurs therein contempt of the Noble Qur.aan;

Thirdly: Because in this there is a wrong belief that this [act] will benefit the deceased [while in actual fact] it will not benefit him.

He is a graduate of the Islaamic University of Madeenah, having graduated from the Institute of Arabic Language, and later the Faculty of Sharee'ah in 2004. He currently resides in Birmingham, UK.

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