A number of scholars and preachers confirmed that photographing the dead is forbidden by Shariah, a local publication reported.

“Several legal, personal rights and Shariah violations are involved in this issue, not to mention the harm inflicted on the feelings of the families of those deceased,” they said.

Sheikh Saleh bin Ghanim Al-Sadlan, postgraduate studies professor at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, said the stampede in Mina was out of the control and capabilities of humans. “What happened was God’s will and the rulers and leaderships of the country made all efforts possible to ease and smooth matters for the pilgrims to perform the holy rituals with comfort and peace. The authorities will thoroughly investigate the accident to know the causes and motives that led to such a tragedy,” he added.

He confirmed that it is strictly forbidden to publish photographs of the deceased except after official authorization from their families, advising everybody to avoid talking about this subject and fake stories without real evidences, or publishing such photographs.

Dr. Hisham bin Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, associate professor at the Higher Judicial Institute, said this accident must be dealt with in accordance with Sharia and Sunna principles.

“It is a painful accident but we must preserve the sanctity of the dead and injured. It is absolutely not permissible to publish their photographs on social media without the consent of their families.

Our Prophet, peace be upon him, proved that the sanctity and inviolability of the dead is as much as it is as a living human being,” he added.

Al-Sheikh stressed the importance that Muslims must deal with this incident with prayers for the souls of the martyrs and the injured so God gives them a speedy recovery.

“Those who sit in their homes tweeting and repeating things they do not know should not indulge themselves in such issues. There are officials and authorized persons who investigate the accident and make reports, and they did not even comment on what the public tweets on social media,” he said.

Dr. Mohammad Al-Sahli, deputy dean of the College of Islamic Shariah at Umm Al-Qura and member of the Human Rights Commission said there are people who are trolling in muddy waters, exploiting the accident to defame the image of the Kingdom in the media to blur the great achievements of the country.

“The images published by some people with evil agendas help achieve such dubious goals. Such actions involve legal caveats and inflict harm on the feelings of the families of the deceased and the injured,” he explained.

It is a violation of the human and personal rights of individuals either dead or alive, he added, confirming that such actions help the enemies to defame and degrade the image of the Kingdom and its leadership, who work day and night to serve the people.