Exhumation

Exhumation (Arabic: نبش القبر, Nabsh al-Qabr) means splitting or destroying a grave in a way that causes the human body to be revealed. According to the fatwa of Shi'a and Sunni jurists, exhuming the grave of a Muslim before the body has decayed is Haram (fiqh) (forbidden). It is only permissible if there is a Religious Necessity (al-ḍarūra al-sharʿiyya), such as cases where the deceased is buried in a place where they are disrespected or in danger of damage. Also, in cases where Haqq al-nas (right of people) is involved—such as burying the body of the deceased in usurped land—exhumation is considered permissible.

According to Shiʿi jurists, if a deceased person has explicitly made a will to be buried in the shrine of one of the Imams but is instead buried elsewhere, it is obligatory to exhume the grave and transfer the body to the intended burial site—provided that doing so does not involve disrespect to the deceased or lead to any other significant harm or negative consequences (mafsada). Examples of such transfers have been recorded in history, including the transfer of the body of Amir Kabir, who was initially buried in Kashan and then transferred to Karbala.

In the history of Islam, cases of exhumation or attempts at it with the aim of desecration have been recorded. The attempts of the Abbasids to exhume the graves of Imam al-Husayn (a) and Imam Musa al-Kazim (a) are considered examples of this. Also, the exhumation of Hujr b. Adi during the Syrian civil war is one of the cases reported in the 21st century.

Definition

"Nabsh al-Qabr" means splitting the grave in such a way that the body of the deceased is revealed. The word "Nabsh" shares two meanings: one is revealing a hidden matter, and the other is extracting something. However, jurists emphasize that the jurisprudential term "Nabsh al-Qabr" solely means revealing the body of the deceased. Therefore, merely opening the grave in a way that the body becomes visible is considered exhumation in fiqh, even if the body is not removed from it.

Jurisprudential Ruling

Exhumation of Hujr b. Adi by al-Nusra Front

According to Shi'a jurists, exhuming the grave of a Muslim is haram; however, exhuming the grave of a Muslim whose body has decayed over time and whose bones have turned to dust is permissible, provided it does not cause desecration. Of course, exhuming the graves of children or the progeny of the children of the Imams (a), martyrs, and scholars is haram (forbidden) even after many years have passed.

Jurists have inferred from narrations that consider the respect of a believer's body equal to that of a living person that desecration is the reason for the prohibition of exhumation. In this regard, al-Allama al-Hilli considers exhumation haram because it leads to mutilation; however, al-Shahid al-Awwal and al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki have not accepted his argument.

Sunni jurists also consider exhumation haram unless there is a religious necessity for it; such as when Haqq al-nas is involved; for example, property belonging to others has been buried with the deceased.

Cases of Permissibility

Shi'a jurists consider exhumation permissible in specific conditions:

• The deceased is buried in a place where they are disrespected or in danger of damage, or a part of the deceased's body was not buried with them and one wants to bury it.
• The place of burial is usurped, or a usurped object is buried with the deceased, or property belonging to heirs is buried with them.
• To prove a right, it is necessary to see the body of the deceased, or one wants to perform an act whose religious importance is greater than splitting the grave; such as wanting to bring a living child out of a pregnant woman's womb.
• According to some marja's, if the deceased had made a will to be buried in the shrine of the Imams but was buried elsewhere, it is obligatory to exhume the grave and transfer the body, provided that it does not cause desecration and does not entail other corruptions.

It is worth noting that the opinions of Shi'a jurists regarding the specific conditions for the permissibility of exhumation have minor differences.

Historical Cases

In historical sources, cases of exhumation are mentioned, sometimes with the intention of desecration and sometimes to transfer the body to religious places. Also, sometimes the grave was kept hidden to prevent exhumation and desecration. For example, hiding the grave of Imam Ali (a) has been attributed to preventing exhumation and desecration by the Umayyads and Khawarij. Among the cases of exhumation of prominent Shi'a figures are the exhumation of Zayd b. Ali in 122/740, the unsuccessful attempt of Ibrahim Dizaj to exhume the grave of Imam al-Husayn (a) by the order of al-Mutawakkil al-Abbasi in 236/850-8511, and splitting the grave of Imam Musa al-Kazim (a) in 433/1041-2.

According to historians, Abd Allah b. Ali al-Abbasi, the ruler of Damascus, also ordered the exhumation of Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan, Yazid b. Mu'awiya, Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, and Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik in 132/750 and burned the remains of their bodies.

In 2013, the grave of Hujr b. Adi was exhumed by al-Nusra Front. (a Syria-based Sunni extremist group that adheres to the global jihadist ideology of al-Qa'ida) The transfer of the body of Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir from Kashan to Karbala is one of the cases of exhumation for transferring the body to the shrine of the Imams or Imamzadas. The issue of temporary Burial of the body to be buried elsewhere later is also related to exhumation. For example, the body of Sayyid Hadi Khusruwshahi, which had been buried as a trust in Behesht-e Masoumeh Cemetery in Qom, was transferred to his library in Pardisan, Qom, after three years. Also, the body of Ali Shariati was buried as a trust in a cemetery in Syria to be transferred to Iran later.