Is there any special virtue in dying and being buried in Makkah or Madinah?
Question

                Is there any saheeh hadeeth that speaks of the virtue of burying the deceased in Makkah or Madinah? Is there any saheeh hadeeth that speaks of the virtue of one who died in Makkah or Madinah? What is your opinion on what some relatives of the deceased do, if he dies somewhere outside of the two sanctuaries, and they want to transport him to one of the two sanctuaries and have the funeral prayer offered for him there, then bury him, and they do that on the grounds that the place is holy? Is there any basis for this in the Sunnah?.
Praise be to Allah.
    The fuqaha’ are unanimously agreed that it is mustahabb to 
    bury the deceased in the graveyard of the righteous and in virtuous places. 
    They quote a great deal of evidence for that, including the following: 

    -1-

    It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with 
    him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    said: “Whoever can manage to die in Madinah, let him die there, for I will 
    intercede for whoever dies there.”

    Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 3917. He said: (|It is) hasan 
    saheeh ghareeb. It was classed as saheeh by al-Nasaa’i in al-Sunan 
    al-Kubra, 1/602; by Ibn ‘Abd al-Haadi in al-Saarim al-Makki, p. 
    96; and by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 4/1034 

    Al-Teebi said: 

    He recommended dying there but that is not in the hands of 
    any person; rather that is up to the decree of Allah, may He be exalted. But 
    he enjoined staying there and settling there and not leaving it, and that 
    may be a cause of dying there. This is like the verse in which Allah, may He 
    be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “then 
    die not except in the Faith of Islâm (as Muslims - Islâmic Monotheism)” 
    [al-Baqarah 2:132]. 

    Quoted from Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 10/286 

    Ibn al-Haaj said: It seems that whoever dies elsewhere then 
    is transported and buried there will have a share of this intercession, but 
    I did not see any shar‘i text (to that effect).

    End quote from Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/70 

    -2-

    It was narrated that ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) 
    said: 

    “O Allah, grant me martyrdom for Your sake and make my death 
    in the land of Your Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).” 

    Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 1890 

    Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) commented on 
    this by saying: 

    It is mustahabb to seek to die in a virtuous land. End quote 

    Al-Majmoo‘, 5/106. 

    In fact, he included it in a chapter entitled: Chapter on the 
    recommendation for a person to pray that his death will be in the virtuous 
    land. End quote. 

    Al-Adhkaar, p. 98 

    -3-

    Imam Maalik narrated in al-Muwatta’ (2/325) from more 
    than one of those whom he trusted that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas and Sa‘eed ibn 
    Zayd ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl died in al-‘Aqeeq and were carried to Madinah and 
    buried there. 

    Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    The report to that effect from Sa‘d and Sa‘eed, as was 
    narrated by Maalik, is saheeh. End quote. 

    Al-Istidhkaar, 3/57 

    Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    There was a difference of opinion as to whether it is 
    permissible to transport the deceased from one land to another. 

    It was said that it is makrooh, because it involves delaying 
    the burial and exposing him to transgression of his sanctity. 

    And it was said that it is mustahabb. 

    Rather, it depends: 

    It is not allowed if there is no clear purpose, such as 
    burying him in good places. The ruling on it being makrooh varies, and it 
    may reach the level of being haraam. 

    It is mustahabb if one is close to a virtuous place, as 
    al-Shaafa‘i stated that it is mustahabb to transport the deceased to a 
    virtuous place, such as Makkah and elsewhere. End quote. 

    Fath al-Baari, 3/207 

    With regard to the ruling on transporting the deceased from 
    one country to another, this has been discussed previously in the answer to 
    question no. 8852. 

    And Allah knows best.