No. Burial is the established Islamic practice and cremation is not accepted across the four schools.
The Canadian position
Canadian law permits either. Where no instructions exist, the person with authority over the remains decides — which is why written instructions matter.
The Islamic position
The four Sunni schools agree on burial. This is one point where leaving no instruction can produce an irreversible outcome.
On the cemetery the jurists agree, and the agreement carries its own exception. The Kuwaiti encyclopaedia records that they agreed it is forbidden to bury a Muslim in a cemetery of non-Muslims, and a non-Muslim in a Muslim one, except where necessity requires it — so a community with no Muslim ground is not outside the classical rule but inside its stated exception. Where the schools genuinely differ is on moving the body. The Maliki school is much the widest: it alone permits transport after burial, and among the purposes it names is digging up someone who accepted Islam and was buried in a non-Muslim cemetery so as to rebury him among Muslims. The Hanafi, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools bar transfer after burial — except that the Hanbalis allow exhumation to move a body to a better resting place. Reopening a grave at all is forbidden by agreement before the body decays unless there is a necessity or a lawful purpose.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Must a Muslim be buried in a Muslim cemetery?.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
If your family includes non-Muslims who may be making decisions, write the instruction down and give it to them now, not in the will.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- What to do when someone dies — Government of Ontario
- Cremation vs burial instructions executor follow ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law