Does One Have to Remove a Body Implant Before Burial?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
My mother is to undergo a total knee replacement (implant shall most likely be metallic or plastic) for she has severe osteoarthritis, and that’s what the doctors have advised.
She is, however, concerned about her burial (not related to the knee surgery but whenever she dies), for we know that a Muslim is buried with only cloth, and all else is forbidden.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question
One does not have to remove a body implant if one had any type during one’s life. It becomes part of one’s body and will be part of it, too, in one’s burial. If one were to try to remove any kind of internal implant, this would be desecration and disrespect of the human body.
Allah Most High said,
“Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.” [Quran, 17:70]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction, in sha’ Allah.
Related:
- Death and Funerals: SeekersGuidance Reader
- What You Need to Know About the Fiqh of Burial, by Imam Tahir Anwar
- Burying in Coffins or Caskets
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
