Is it permissible to bury a Muslim in a non-Muslim graveyard?

As salaamu alaikum

Dear hazrat 

In the USA some Muslim communities purchase a number of plots in an existing graveyard for the use of any Muslim when he/she dies. Is this situation permitted in Islam in light of the fact that Muslims are not to be buried in nonmuslim graveyards? In addition to that I believe if a graveyard is built then state law would forbid one from not allowing any nonmuslim from being buried there. Any citizen would be allowed to be buried in there. If that is true is there any other option available for Muslims in light of the fatwa below :

Q. Is it permissible to bury a Muslim in a non-Muslim graveyard? 

A. It is not permissible.  The prohibition is obvious. It is even prohibited for a kaafir to assist with the burial of his Muslim relative. The authoritative Kitaab, Badaaius Sanaa’ says in this regard: “It is Makrooh (i.e. reprehensible, not permissible) for a kaafir •to enter the grave of his Mu ‘min relative because the Wrath and Curse (of Allah) settle on the place where a kaafir is. Hence, the grave of a Muslim should be saved from these (calamities). “To save a Muslim from the Wrath and Curse of Allah Ta’ala ,, he/she should never be buried in the graveyard of the kuffaar.

The majlis vol 16 no 02

Was salaam 

Hassan Sulaiman 

ASSALAMU ALAIKUM
13 Sha’baan 1444 – 6 March 2023

Hassan Sulaiman

Respected  Brother,

Your  e-mail refers.

It is not permissible  to bury  Muslims in a kuffaar graveyard. The
situation described   by you is not permissible.

Was-salaam

A.S.Desai

Mujlisul  Ulama of S.A.

THE QABRUSTAN IS NOT A PARK

. According to The Majlis, the Qabrustaan should be in a forlorn state as the mercy of Allah Ta’ala descends on forlorn, dilapidated graves. However, it is mentioned in the Hadith that Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) planted a branch on a grave. How is the view of The Majlis  reconciled with this Hadith?

A. Placing a solitary  twig/branch on a grave is not making the Qabrustan a park. The forlornness of the Qabrustaan is not eliminated by one small twig/branch placed on a grave. We said that the Qabrustaan  “should not be like  a park”. If someone puts a branch (not planting trees and flowers) on a grave, the entire Qabrustaan will not become  a park. But if flowers are  put on the graves, walls are built, tombstones are placed and the place  maintained like a garden, then obviously it  will become like a park, kuffaar-style as are their graveyards.

   Furthermore,  despite Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) placing the twig on a grave, it never  became a Sunnah among the Sahaabah. Perhaps one or two Sahaabah  emulated it. But it never became a practice with either Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) or the Sahaabah. Why did Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam)  place a twig on a grave only once in his lifetime, and why did the vast  majority, in fact 99%, of the Sahaabah not  follow this  one-time amal of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam)? Did they not understand the amal of our Nabi (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam)? 

   Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam)  fixed the twig/branch in a particular grave because it was revealed to him that the inmate  was  suffering severe punishment.  Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam)  neither placed twigs on other graves nor ordered the Sahaabah to do so, hence this one-time amal never became an established Sunnah. Thus, there is absolutely no basis  in the twig/branch Hadith  for the kuffaar practice of converting a graveyard into a park.

    That  Allah’s mercy settles on forlorn graves is borne out by the episode of Nabi Isaa (Alahyis salaam). Therefore, those who are truly concerned  of the welfare of their buried relatives should not resort to kuffaar practices and stupidly seek to justify  their aberrations with Hadith narrations which have absolutely no relevance to the issue.

THE MAJLIS VOL 26 NO 08

WOMEN AND GRAVEYARDS

Question
I was searching online for the mas-alah regarding women being prohibited visiting graveyards but couldn’t find much.  I thought I may find it on the old masaa-il of marhoom Mufti Ebrahim Desai, as their old masaa-il were normal in those days. However I didn’t. Then I came across the following:
“From Ask Imam:
The Hadith you refer to is as follows:
“The Messenger of Allah cursed women who visit graves, those who built mosques over them and erected lamps (there).”
However, this refers to the time when the prohibition of visiting the graves was for everyone; male and female. This was later abrogated by the following Hadith:

“I prohibited you from visiting the graves, but (now) you may visit them.”
Women are permitted to visit a graveyard on condition: They are accompanied by a mahram. The accompanying of a mahram is meant to curb any possible fitnah.
The visit is a means of remembering death and conscientizing oneself of life after death and preparing for it.
Abdul Mannan Nizami, Student Darul Iftaa Chicago, IL, USA
Checked and Approved by Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
(End of fatwa)
Please advise and comment.
Answer
The fatwa is incorrect. The Hadith which the Chicago student cited and interpreted and which his teacher confirmed as correct, does not apply to both men and women. The Hadith states with clarity that women who visit graveyards are cursed. Although men were initially prohibited from visiting graves, the specific hadith discussed here refers to only women. The prohibition and curse are directed in this Hadith to only women.
The later abrogation applies to the prohibition which had extended to men. This abrogation did not apply to women. When women were unanimously prohibited by the Sahaabah from attending the Musjid for Salaat, then by what corrupt stretch of logic can their visiting graveyards ever be permissible.
Ponder well! Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had permitted women to come to the Musjid. At no stage did he prohibit them. Yet, the Sahaabah deemed it later imperative to prohibit them, hence the new practice of prohibition became the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
But as far as females visiting the graveyard, leave alone any initial permissibility, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) proclaimed the severe stricture of LA’NAT (CURSE) settling on women who visit the Qabrustaan. In view of the severity of the punishment, it is HARAAM for women to visit the Qabrustaan. The fatwa issued by the student is corrupt and baatil.