Short answer
A limb or body part removed from a living person should be wrapped and buried, out of respect for the human body. There is no ghusl or janazah prayer for it. If the hospital will not release it, ask for burial if you can; if that is not possible, you are not sinful. The schools agree on burial.
A part separated from a living person is wrapped in a cloth and buried; it is not washed or prayed over. Parts of the human body keep their honour, so they should not be thrown away with waste where burial is possible.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Agrees for a limb cut from a living person. If a part of a dead Muslim's body is found, even a small one, it is washed, shrouded, prayed over and buried.
- Hanbali
- Like the Shafi'i view: a part found of a dead Muslim is washed and prayed over; a limb cut from the living is buried.
Explanation
Allah has honoured the children of Adam, and that honour stays with the body. The Prophet ﷺ said that breaking the bone of a dead person is like breaking it while alive. For this reason the scholars teach that human parts are not discarded like waste. Even hair and nail clippings are best buried.
A limb from a living person. After an amputation, the limb is wrapped in a cloth and buried in a Muslim graveyard or another respectful place. There is no ghusl, no shroud in the full sense and no janazah prayer for it, because the person is still alive. Some families arrange this through their local mosque or Muslim funeral service.
Organs and tissue removed in surgery, such as a gallbladder, appendix or tumour, are usually sent to pathology for testing. That is allowed because it serves your treatment. Afterwards, hospitals normally dispose of them by incineration. If you want burial, ask before the operation; many hospitals in the US and UK will release tissue for religious burial. If they cannot, there is no sin on you.
Parts of someone who has died. In the Hanafi school, if most of the body, or half of it with the head, is found, it is washed and prayed over. A smaller part is wrapped and buried without the prayer. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools pray over any part found, as above.
For questions about donating organs or the body, see organ donation and donating your body to science. Follow a qualified doctor's advice about the surgery itself.
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 Al-Israa 17:70
۞ وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا ﴿٧٠﴾
And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.
The human body is honoured, including its parts.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3207
Graded sahih... كسر عظم الميت ككسره حيا ...
"Breaking the bone of a dead person is like breaking it while he is alive."
Human remains keep their sanctity.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Janazah. If more than half the body, or half with the head, is found, it is washed and prayed over; otherwise it is wrapped and buried.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, on hair, nails and human parts. Separated human parts, hair and nails are to be buried, not thrown in impure places.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Jana'iz, on finding part of a dead body. The Shafi'i view that any part of a dead Muslim found is washed and prayed over.
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.