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Is it permissible to pray over Muslim dead bodies that were tortured, killed, and buried in mass graves, then had their bodies exhumed? And are they to be given a funeral procession?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to exhume the deceased after burial except out of necessity, such as if he was buried without ghusl (ritual washing) or shroud, or in usurped land. It is stipulated that the body must not have decomposed unless there is a right due to another party related to it.

If the deceased was buried without prayer, ghusl, or shroud, and his body has decomposed, it is not permissible to exhume him.

If their graves are known within a month, prayers should be offered over them; otherwise, not.

Some scholars permitted exhumation absolutely, while others stipulated that some part of the deceased must remain.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy