SECTION OF CORPSES · 63 – BURYING MORE THAN ONE DEAD PERSON IN A GRAVE AND MARKING THE GRAVES
According to a narration from Muttalib (bin Abdullah el-Medeni), he has said:
When Osman bin Maz’un died, his body was carried out of his house and buried. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered someone to bring a stone. That person was unable to carry the stone. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rose to lift the stone. He rolled up his sleeves.
The narrator Kesir states that Muttalib has said: The one who narrated this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rolled up his sleeves, I can almost still see the whiteness of his arms. Then he lifted the stone and placed it at the head of Osman bin Maz’un's grave, saying: “With this stone, I will mark my brother’s grave; I will bury those who die from my family beside him.”
**Explanation:**
Placing a marker stone at the head of graves to prevent them from being lost and establishing a family burial ground are based on this honorable hadith. According to the Hanafi school of thought, there is no objection to placing a stone and writing the name [on it] in order to prevent graves from being lost. According to the Maliki school of thought, writing the deceased's name on the grave is disliked (makruh). According to the Shafi’i school of thought, it is also disliked, but writing the name of a scholar is recommended. According to the Hanbali school of thought, it is also disliked.