Download the 'Information about Muslim burials' leaflet
Download the Information about Muslim burials leaflet (8 page, 38k, pdf)
Read the leaflet using the links below:
Types of graves
Types of burial
How to book a burial
Legal requirements
Lowering the deceased
Backfilling the soil
Where you can get help and assistance
Purchased graves
The person purchasing the exclusive rights to a grave space acquires only the right of burial in the grave for the period granted (usually 99 years). The ownership of the land and responsibilities remain the property of Bury Council. As the owner, you will be eligible to apply for a permit to place and maintain a memorial on the grave space. Memorials cannot be erected without a permit and an ‘Authority to place and maintain a memorial’ form must be completed. If a memorial is placed on the grave space without a permit this will be removed.
Failure to do this could result in an unauthorised memorial being removed from the grave. Memorials are governed by strict regulations, which are available from the Cemetery Office. Memorials cannot be erected without a permit.
Non-purchased graves (known as a public/pauper grave)
The ownership of the exclusive right of burial in non-purchased graves remains with Bury Council and it is possible that more than one interment may take place in the grave. Memorials are not permitted on non-purchased graves.
Single depth graves for an interment only can be requested in writing up to 10am on the day of the burial.
Types of graves available
Timber, brick or concrete vaults
On request, graves will be lined with timber, brick or concrete breeze blocks to form an inner shell in the grave space. Please note that we require the following notice for these types of vault.
Timber vault - 2 days
Brick vault - 3 to 5 days
Concrete vault - 1 day
Earth graves
Earthen graves are provided.
Burial chamber
A burial chamber is a concrete vault sealed with concrete slabs. Burials are permitted in either a suitable container for burial (a coffin) or the deceased can be wrapped in a shroud. If a shroud is to be used, a suitable container must be provided to transport the deceased to the graveside. Consideration also needs to be given to how the deceased will be placed into the grave (see section about ‘lowering the deceased).
Initially, you need to arrange a funeral by contacting Bury Cemetery Office.
Bury Cemetery Office, St Peter's Road, Bury, BL9 9RL
Phone: 0161 253 6510
E-mail: bereavementservice@bury.gov.uk
The cemetery office is open Monday to Thursday, 8am to 4pm and Fridays, 8am to 3.30pm.
Saturday funerals are permitted provided that the funeral is requested prior to 2pm on Friday.
We will then provisionally book the funeral and we will require you to give us the following information.
Information we require when booking a burial
Funeral date and time
The date and time when the funeral cortege will arrive at the cemetery gates.
Details of the deceased
The name, age and address of the deceased (Please note: there is an increase in the charge if the deceased did not live in the borough of Bury.)
Type of burial
Whether the burial will be in a coffin, casket or shroud.
Grave size
You will need to notify us of the coffin size to ensure that the grave is dug to the correct size to fit the coffin or shroud.
Type of grave
Whether the grave is a vault or earthen.
Person arranging the funeral
This can be a funeral director or a family member. This person is responsible for paying the required fees.
This now completes the telephone arrangements and you must now proceed as follows.
You can request a list of fees and charges from Bury Cemetery office. You will need to consider the following fees.
- New grave fee (purchasing the exclusive right of burial)
- Burial fee (dependant on the age of the deceased)
- Timber or concrete vault fee (used to line the inside of the grave)
- Out-of-hours surcharge (a list of normal burial times is available from the Cemetery Office)
Registering the death
The death must be registered with the Registrar of Deaths in the district where it occurred. The Registrar will require a certificate of the cause of death, issued by a Medical Practitioner. The Registrar will issue a certificate for burial. The certificate must be handed in to Bury Cemetery office at the time of burial. The burial cannot take place without the certificate for burial.
Bury Registry Office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. You must have an apppointment. Phone 0161 253 6026.
An emergency certificate for burial can be issued between 4.30pm Friday to 9am Monday by contacting Mr Liaqat Ali on 0161 766 6324 or 07877196526 or Mr Yousaf Fenn on 0161 763 9167 and 07967 665076.
The above certificate will not be issued in some cases, for example, if the cause of death is not known, if the death was caused by an accident, or if the death was sudden. This may result in the Coroner being involved. If this occurs, the Coroner will issue an alternative certificate, which again, must be passed to us. In this instance, a post-mortem may be required or other investigations (for example, MRI scanning), which may delay the funeral by a day or two.
Notice of burial (interim form)
You must complete and sign a formal application to us for the burial. This can be obtained from Bury Cemetery office. This form confirms your telephone booking and completes a binding contract over the funeral. We require this form no later than 10am on the day of the burial.
This completes the legal requirements.
You must now consider the funeral.
Lowering the deceased
As it is not safe or sensible for anybody to enter a grave, you should use tape to lower the deceased. For coffins and rigid containers, we have tapes available at the grave side. For other containers, you should consider the method very carefully. You need to provide sufficient bearers to carry and lower the deceased into the grave. Risk assessments are available for lowering coffins into graves.
Returning the soil to the grave
In many cases, families wish to return the soil to the grave personally. The staff on site are available to assist or complete this task if requested.
Help and assistance is available either at Bury Cemetery Office (telephone 0161 253 6510) or via a local funeral director. If you do need help and advice, please contact us and if necessary, you can arrange an interview with a member of staff at short notice.
Advice is also available from the mosque and your Community Representative or
Mr Liaqat Ali, phone 0161 766 6324 or 07877 196526.
Related information
Go to the Bereavement Service fees and charges page
Go to Bury Register Office page
