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Fatwa CenterExcellence of being buried in Makkah
Question
Shaik if a person passed away during the journey of haj or umra and buried in mecca will get a higher reward. but what about other people will they get any special reward because of he buried in mecca? i have heard people are requesting that they want to be bury in mecca.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We are not aware of any evidence about getting a great reward for a person performing Hajj or ‘Umrah due to him being buried in Makkah. But what is reported about the excellence for a person who dies in a state of Ihraam while performing Hajj or ‘Umrah is that he will be resurrected (on the Day of Judgment) while saying Talbiyah (Labbayka Allaahumma Labbayk, Labbayka laa Shareeka laka Labbayk, Inna Al-Hamda wan-Ni‘mata laka wal-Mulk Laa Shareeka Lak, i.e. O Allaah! I hasten to You. You have no partner. I hasten to You. All praise and grace belong to You and the sovereignty too; You have no partner).
Also, it is proven in the Sunnah that it is desirable to be buried in the Blessed Land. Abu Hurayrah 
narrated that when death came to Moosa (Moses 
) “…he asked Allaah to make him as near to the Blessed Land (Jerusalem - Palestine) as (the distance of) throwing a stone.” Moreover, Al-Bukhari 
assigned a chapter about this Hadeeth and he entitled it: “A Chapter about whoever wants to be buried in the Blessed Land and the Like.” Ibn Hajar said: “What he meant by the term ‘and the like’ is the other two mosques of Makkah and Al-Madeenah for which people set out a journey (for the sake of worship) as well as near the places where the Prophets were buried and near the graves of the martyrs and Awliyaa’ (i.e. the allies of Allaah) as a way of getting blessing by being in their neighborhood and being exposed to Allaah’s Mercy that descends upon them, and also as a way of imitating Moosa (in this regard). This is based on that what is required is being close to the Prophets who were buried in Bayt Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and this is what ‘Iyaadh believed to be the preponderant opinion. Al-Muhallab said: “He [Moosa ] asked this in order to be close to the Land of Resurrection and so that he would not face the difficulty of those who are far from it.”
Furthermore, the Sunnah proved that it is desirable to be buried in Al-Madeenah, as the Prophet said: “Whoever amongst you is able not to die except in Al-Madeenah, let him die there, as whoever dies in it, he will get the intercession (of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for those who are buried there), or that he will have witnesses on his behalf.” [Ibn Hibbaan]
These texts are evidence that it is desirable to be buried in a blessed land. There is no doubt that Makkah is the most beloved land to Allaah, and there is blessing in Makkah that is not found in other places, so being keen on being buried there is something permissible.
As regards a person making a will to be buried in Makkah, then Shaykh ‘Uthaymeen replied to a person who asked him this question, by saying: “I do not believe that you should make a will about this, and your children are not obligated to fulfill this will, because if you were to make a will to this effect, you would cause them much hardship and you would cause them to spend a lot of money, and you would open closed doors for the people (to imitate you), because when the people would hear that so and so made a will for his funeral prayer to be performed at Al-Haraam mosque in Makkah, or to be buried in Al-Baqee’ (in Al-Madeenah), they – by their emotional nature – would hasten to do the same and this will lead to unpleasant consequences which only Allaah knows, so you should not make a will to this effect. In fact, all lands are the lands of Allaah and any person on the earth will be resurrected from his place to the place of Resurrection and no one will be delayed. Yes, if you dwell near Makkah, like if you live in Ash-Sharaae’i (an area in the neighborhood of Makkah), or in Jeddah, then it might be said that it is acceptable as this is near Makkah and it does not cost much money. However, this does not mean that people are obligated to do so, but if you are far, then you should not make a will (to this effect) and your guardians are not obligated to fulfill this will.”
Allaah Knows best.
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