Short answer
Not without need. Each Muslim should have their own grave, and burying two in one grave is disliked in the Hanafi school unless there is a real necessity, such as many deaths at once or no land. An old grave may be reused once the earlier body has turned to dust, but a grave is not opened to add someone while the body remains.
Burying more than one person in a grave is makruh without necessity, and allowed with it: the more virtuous is placed toward the qiblah, and a barrier of earth is put between them. Opening a grave before the body has decayed is not allowed; once it has turned to dust, the place may be used again.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Two people are not buried in one grave except in necessity, and many Shafi'i scholars say doing so without need is forbidden, not only disliked.
Explanation
Families sometimes ask to bury a husband and wife together, or a parent with a child, and cemeteries in some cities offer shared family graves to save space. The sunnah is that each person has their own grave.
In necessity it is allowed. After Uhud, when many Companions were killed and the wounded could not dig many graves, the Prophet ﷺ told them to dig wide and deep, bury two or three in one grave, and put first the one who knew the most Quran. Scholars take from this both the permission in need and the order of placing.
- Without need: disliked. A husband and wife, or parent and child, are buried in separate graves, ideally side by side.
- In need, such as a disaster, a pandemic or a real shortage of land: allowed. The more virtuous is placed nearest the qiblah, and a layer of earth separates the bodies.
- A new burial in an old grave: allowed once the earlier body has fully decayed and turned to dust. If bones are found, they are reburied respectfully.
- Opening a recent grave to add another body is not allowed while the first body remains.
Double-depth family graves. Some cemeteries in the UK and elsewhere bury a second family member above the first, years later, with earth between them. Many Hanafi muftis allow this only where real shortage of space makes it a need, and not when the first grave must be reopened before the body has decayed. Ask a local mufti and your Muslim funeral service before buying such a plot.
For the burial itself, see how Muslims are buried, and for coffins, see burial in a coffin.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Abasa 80:21
ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُۥ فَأَقْبَرَهُۥ ﴿٢١﴾
Then He causes his death and provides a grave for him.
Allah honours each person with burial in a grave.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1713
Grading to be checked... احفروا وأوسعوا وأحسنوا وادفنوا الاثنين والثلاثة في قبر واحد ...
"Dig, make it wide and do it well, and bury two or three in one grave."
Shared graves were allowed at Uhud because of necessity.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1343
Sahih... ثم يقول أيهم أكثر أخذا للقرآن ...
"Which of them knew more of the Quran?"
The more virtuous is placed first, toward the qiblah.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Janazah, on burial. Burying two in one grave only in necessity, and reusing a grave once the body has turned to dust.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the jana'iz, section on burial. The barrier of earth between bodies and the order of placing.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Jana'iz. The Shafi'i rule on two in one grave.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.