Islamic funerals in the UK: burial timings, janazah and paperwork
How the janazah prayer is performed, the order of an Islamic funeral, and the UK paperwork for a quick Muslim burial, from medical examiner to green form.
What happens at an Islamic funeral, step by step?
Ghusl. The body is washed an odd number of times, usually three, by relatives or trained volunteers of the same sex in a mosque washroom or funeral home. In most traditions a husband or wife may wash their spouse.
Kafan. The body is wrapped in plain white cloth: in common Sunni practice three sheets for a man and five pieces for a woman, whilst Shia practice uses three pieces for both.
Janazah. The community prays over the body, usually at a mosque after a daily prayer, or at a cemetery or funeral home, and it takes around ten minutes.
Burial. Men of the family carry the body to the grave and lower it, laying it on its right side facing the qibla (the direction of Makkah). Mourners usually add three handfuls of soil each and stay to pray once the grave is filled.
Non-Muslims are welcome to observe, dressed modestly and standing at the back. Whether Muslim women attend the burial varies, so ask beforehand.
How is the janazah prayer performed?
The janazah is a communal obligation (fard kifayah), so the duty is met for everyone once part of the community has prayed it. It is prayed standing throughout, with no bowing (ruku) or prostration (sujud), and the imam stands beside the body with the congregation in rows behind, facing the qibla. The method followed in most Sunni mosques in the UK is:
First takbir. Make the intention, raise the hands and say "Allahu akbar". Shafi'i and Hanbali practice then recites Surah al-Fatiha, whereas Hanafi practice, which most UK mosques of South Asian heritage follow, recites the opening praise known as the thana (Subhanaka Allahumma).
Second takbir. Say "Allahu akbar" and send blessings on the Prophet, using the salawat (Salat al-Ibrahimiyya) recited near the end of the daily prayer.
Third takbir. Say "Allahu akbar" and make du'a for the person who died.
Fourth takbir. Say "Allahu akbar", pause briefly, then end with "Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah". Schools differ on whether the salam is given once, to the right, or to both sides.
Hanafis raise the hands only at the first takbir and Shafi'is and Hanbalis at each one, so simply follow the imam. Shia (Ja'fari) practice differs in structure: the prayer has five takbirs, with the declaration of faith after the first, blessings on the Prophet and his family after the second, a du'a for all believers after the third and a du'a for the person who died after the fourth, and the fifth ends the prayer without a salam.
The du'a most often said after the third takbir is reported in Sahih Muslim (963). It begins Allahumma-ghfir lahu warhamhu, wa 'afihi wa'fu 'anhu, wa akrim nuzulahu, wa wassi' mudkhalahu, meaning "O God, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and pardon him, honour his arrival and make his grave spacious", and goes on to ask that he is cleansed of sin and admitted to Paradise. For a woman lahu becomes laha, and children have their own du'a. If you don't know the Arabic, a sincere prayer for forgiveness in your own words is valid.
What paperwork allows a quick burial in England and Wales?
Since 9 September 2024 every death in England and Wales not referred to a coroner goes through a medical examiner, an independent senior doctor who reviews the cause of death and speaks to the family before the certificate goes to the register office. The National Medical Examiner's guidance says straightforward cases should normally be completed within 24 hours, recognises that urgent release may be needed "to fulfil religious practices", and expects weekend cover where local communities regularly need it. So tell the ward, bereavement office or GP straight away that you need an urgent burial for religious reasons, and ask for the case to be flagged to the medical examiner.
Once the register office has the certificate, a registrar can issue the green form so the burial can go ahead, with the full registration appointment following within five days. Several councils publish urgent faith services:
Manchester takes requests marked "URGENT FAITH DEATH" by email seven days a week (Saturday 9am to 12.30pm, Sundays and bank holidays 9am to 1.30pm) and emails the green form to the family or funeral director.
Tower Hamlets runs a Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday service from 9am to 1pm, once the certificate has arrived from the medical examiner's office.
Coventry has a registrar on call at weekends and public holidays, except Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, for urgent religious or cultural funerals.
Barking and Dagenham issues burial certificates on Saturdays, Sundays and some bank holidays between 9am and 10am for burials within 24 hours, provided the death hasn't gone to the coroner.
Arrangements change, so check your council's page or ask the mosque funeral committee. Our guide to registering a death covers the appointment itself.
What happens if the death is reported to a coroner?
Sudden, unexplained or possibly unnatural deaths go to a coroner, which is a common cause of delay. The family can't object to a coroner's post-mortem but can ask for priority, and the Chief Coroner's Guidance No. 28 says coroners cannot lawfully exclude religious reasons for urgency and may put such a case ahead of others, although no faith gets automatic priority and many areas have no out-of-hours coroner service.
Families can also ask whether a CT scan could replace an invasive post-mortem. The Chief Coroner's guidance on post-mortem imaging says the family's wishes must be weighed, but imaging isn't available everywhere, the family may be asked to pay (never through the coroner), and an invasive examination may still be needed. Afterwards, either the coroner issues the burial authority directly or, where there's no inquest, sends the cause of death to the registrar, who issues the green form.
A timeline for the first 72 hours
A typical sequence in England and Wales where no coroner is involved:
First hour: death is confirmed, and the family tells staff they need an urgent burial and calls the mosque or a Muslim funeral service.
Usually within 24 hours: the doctor completes the cause of death certificate, and the medical examiner reviews it and calls the family.
The same day where possible: the certificate reaches the register office and the green form is issued, often through an urgent faith service run by the council.
The same or next day: the funeral director or mosque committee books the grave and arranges ghusl and kafan.
The next suitable prayer time: the imam leads the janazah, followed by the burial.
Within 5 days: the family completes the full registration and gets certified copies and a Tell Us Once reference.
If a coroner is involved: this can add anything from a day to several weeks.
If the body is going abroad: removal can happen at least four clear days after the coroner receives notice, unless the coroner agrees to earlier removal, and a repatriation specialist usually arranges it.
How is it different in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
In Scotland a death must be registered within eight days, and the funeral can't go ahead until the registrar has issued the certificate of registration (Form 14). If the certificate is picked for review by the Death Certification Review Service, NHS Scotland's guidance confirms that "advance registration" is available for religious reasons such as a burial within 24 hours, and the registrar applies for it. The Procurator Fiscal investigates deaths that would go to a coroner elsewhere.
In Northern Ireland a death should be registered within five days, after which the registrar issues a certificate for burial or cremation to the funeral director. Where a death has been referred to the coroner, the coroner can consent to burial before the death is registered.
Where can Muslims be buried in the UK?
Most Muslim burials take place in council cemeteries, many with a Muslim section where graves face the qibla, and some in cemeteries run by Muslim community trusts. Before booking, ask whether the cemetery takes weekend burials and allows burial in a shroud without a coffin, because no national law requires a coffin but each burial authority sets its own rules and some insist on a coffin or a board for lowering. Weekend arrangements can carry conditions, and Doncaster's out-of-hours service, for example, expects the family to backfill the grave themselves.
How much does a Muslim burial cost?
Costs vary widely. Barking and Dagenham's 2026/27 fees, for example, charge residents £2,420 for a 50-year right of burial in the Muslim section at Chadwell Heath (£3,005 for non-residents), with an adult interment fee of £1,480 and a £639 supplement for a Saturday morning burial. Arranging ghusl, kafan and transport through a mosque can cost less than a conventional package, and many mosques run burial schemes that members pay into. If the person arranging the funeral gets certain benefits, the DWP's Funeral Expenses Payment can help with burial fees for the plot plus up to £1,000 towards other costs. Our guides to funeral costs and who pays when there's no money go further.
How do you take a body abroad for burial?
Under the Removal of Bodies Regulations 1954, anyone taking a body out of England or Wales must give notice to the coroner, and the body can't leave for four clear days unless the coroner confirms that no further enquiries are needed, which coroners can do in urgent cases. The death normally has to be registered first. The destination country's embassy or high commission sets the remaining requirements, commonly a certificate of freedom from infection and sometimes embalming, so speak to them and a repatriation specialist before booking flights. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.
What comes after the burial?
After the mourning days the family turns to the estate, and Islamic teaching places weight on paying the debts of the person who died before anything is shared out. That's hard when nobody knows every account the person held, and Legacy Trail's account discovery service searches credit reference and fraud prevention data to find accounts and debts the family didn't know about. Our guide to how many death certificates you need explains where each certified copy goes. For condolence wording, see what to say when a Muslim person dies.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.