Using bitumen in building Shaqq in graves

Fatwa no. 20158 All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the Last of the Prophets. (Part No. 7; Page No. 295) The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has reviewed the letter submitted to His Eminence the Grand Mufty by His Eminence the head of the Municipality of Turaif Governorate under no. 2669 on 23/11/1418 A.H. The letter has been submitted to the Committee by the Secretariat General of the Council of Senior Scholars under no. 7196 on 30/11/1418 A.H. The head of the Municipality asked for the legal ruling on using bitumen in building the Shaq (a rectangular hole in the bottom of a grave in which the body is buried); he namely said in his letter:With reference to the note of His Eminence the Judge of Turayf Court no. 1235 dated 10/11/1418 A.H. Which is based on our letter no. 2516 dated 04/11/1418 A.H. Regarding the legal ruling on using bitumen in building the Shaq in graves. His Eminence has recommended that we ask the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' in Riyadh about this legal ruling.Accordingly, we would like Your Eminence to give us a legal ruling on whether it is permissible to do this, as it is difficult in some places to make Lahd (a crevice on the side of a grave facing the direction faced for Prayer) of mud bricks because of the non-coherence of mud. Due to mud's fast breakability, the difficulty of transferring it from one place to another and the impossibility of storing and protecting it from weather conditions gives us the problem.The letter from the head of the Municipality has been referred to His Eminence the Judge of Turayf Court as per letter no. 5568/2 dated 01/12/1418 A.H. To form a committee consisting of members from the Court. The said governorate, the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) will examine (Part No. 7; Page No. 296) the said graves and prepare a detailed report about them. The answer was given as per letter no. 39 on 07/01/1419 A.H., attached with a report from the Committee which examined the site of the graveyard. The report states:All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the Last of the Prophets. On Wednesday, 03/01/1419 A.H., based on the letter sent by His Eminence the Judge of Turayf Court under no. 1420 on 22/12/1418 A.H. His letter is based on the letter sent by the Grand Mufty of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Chairman of Council of Senior Scholars and the Departments of Scholarly Research and Ifta' under no. 25568 on 01/12/1418 A. H. It concerns forming a Committee consisted of members from the governorate, the court, the CPVPV and the Municipality of Turayf to prepare a report clarifying the causes why it is not possible to make Lahds for some graves and why the mud bricks are not coherent, etc. A meeting was held by the said Committee which consists of:1- Fahd ibn `Ashwy Al-`Anzy, the representative of the governorate.2- Humaydan ibn `Aly Al-`Anzy, the representative of the Court.3- Muhammad ibn Matar Al-Hazimy, the representative of CPVPV.4- Jabir Al-Ad-ham Al-Ruwayly, the representative of the Municipality.The members of the Committee went to the graveyard located in the northern district of the governorate and the committee found the following:First, we do not see a thing that prevents making Lahds. (Part No. 7; Page No. 297) Second, the non-coherence of mud bricks is attributed to two reasons, these are:1- The little amount of straw in mud bricks;2. The smallness of the brick blocks.We recommend putting these two reasons into account on making mud bricks in the future.Third, we see that in case of the incapability of making Lahds or using mud bricks in building in the future, it is permissible to use bitumen in building Shaq in graves.Accordingly, the minutes of this meeting has been written down. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions.