The Ruling on an Old Grave
Question
In the answer to question no. 5 you stated that if the graves are so old that the deceased will have completely decomposed, then ploughing and cultivating that land is all proper: [ar]ولو بلي الميت وصار ترابًا جاز دفن غيره في قبره وزرعه والبناء عليه[/ar] “If the deceased has decayed and become dust, it is permissible to bury another in his grave, to cultivate it and to build on it” (al-Bahr, vol. 2, p. 195). Your statement ended there. But here the situation is that bones come out during ploughing.
Answer
1. In such a situation it is not permissible to plough and cultivate that land. However, if someone buries a deceased in owned land without the owner’s permission, the owner retains the option to dig up the grave and take the deceased out of his land, or to level it with the ground and do whatever he likes — cultivation and so on — and, if he wishes, to let the grave remain:…
Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya
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