Can We Cremate the Bodies of Those Who Died Due to the Corona Virus?

Question:

Can Muslim bodies affected by Covid-19 be cremated? Recently, the Srilankan Supreme Court has ordered to cremate the bodies.

Answer:

Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

I pray you are well.

No. The default ruling of burying the deceased according to the practice of the Muslims still stands. Proper precautions are to be taken in order to prevent further spread of the virus. There have been cases of people contracting it from the deceased.

I looked into the matter and could not find any authoritative sources that suggested it would be permissible to bury the bodies. With proper protective equipment the risk of contacting the virus is neutralised. In the case of a large number of bodies, multiple people can be buried in one grave if need be. So there is no need to resort to such a policy. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah]

The European Fatwa Council also issued a statement saying that Muslims should bury and not burn their deceased. I hope that helps.

I pray that helps.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.