After placing the deceased in the lahd, bamboo or the like is laid and then earth is thrown

Question

After placing the body in the grave, sometimes all the earth is thrown right onto the body. Is it permissible to do so? Is laying bamboo and the like, that is, making a gap, wajib or mustahabb? With children this is usually what is done: all the earth is poured in without leaving any gap, and no harm is seen in it. They begin it thus: having recited “ومنها خلقناكم…” (“And from it We created you…”, Surah Ta Ha, 20:55)

Answer

It is not permitted to throw earth onto the deceased without laying a plank; the ruling is the same for everyone, whether child or adult. A lahd (niche grave) should be made and then closed with unbaked bricks and the like, or a shaqq (trench grave) made and a plank or bamboo laid, and then the earth thrown in.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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