ibn sultan
Poonch:In a development that has left residents both stunned and awestruck, the bodies of an elderly couple, buried years apart, were found in an extraordinary state of preservation after their graves were unearthed by a landslide in the Chaitri Ari Kandi village of Mendhar tehsil in Jammu Kashmir’s Poonch district.
The incident unfolded earlier this week when a massive landslide, triggered by continuous rainfall, hit the hilly terrain of Ari Kandi. Among the areas impacted was a small graveyard where the couple, Molvi Muhammad Ibrahim, who passed away 24 years ago, and his wife Kaneez Khatoon, who died four years ago, had been laid to rest side by side.
The villagers, many of whom gathered to witness the relocation of the graves, said they had never seen anything like it before.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, a resident, Mohammad Shafi, said, “We thought the bodies would be bones and dust by now. But when the soil was removed, we were shocked to see their kafan still white and the bodies uncorrupted. It was as if they were buried just yesterday.”
Another villager, Nasreen Bano, described the moment as spiritual and overwhelming.
“We believe this is a sign of their piety and clean hearts. Molvi Sahab was a respected religious man, and his wife was known for her simplicity and kindness. It’s a lesson for us,” she said.
The exhumed bodies were respectfully reburied at a safer location by local volunteers and religious elders, following proper Islamic rites.
While no formal investigation or medical analysis has been conducted into the preservation of the bodies, many in the area consider it a spiritual sign, a belief grounded in Islamic tradition that righteous souls may remain untouched by decay.
Local Imam Ghulam Nabi, who led the reburial prayers, told The Kashmiriyat, “These things are not for us to question, but to reflect on. Such events remind us of the eternal truths of our faith.”
The administration has yet to make any official comment on the incident, though local authorities are reportedly assessing the landslide damage across the region.
Meanwhile, the story of Molvi Ibrahim and Kaneez Khatoon has spread across neighboring villages, sparking discussions on faith, mortality, and the mysteries of the afterlife.
