Why are Muslims not allowed to cremate their dead?

Answer

Muslims are not allowed to be cremated for the following reasons:

1) Muslims are not Hindus nor atheists.

2) The Islamic system of burial is divinely ordained and has been commanded and taught by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) who as you are aware was the Final Nabi of Allah Ta'ala.

3) Fire will be Allah's primary means of punishment in the Hereafter. Jahannum (Hell) is Fire which has been created for the transgressors and deniers of Allah Ta'ala. For this reason, Islam forbids killing insects, animals, etc. with fire.

4) Allah Ta'ala states in the Qur'aan that He has ennobled human beings. It is not befitting to treat the ennobled human body like chattel or dead animals or firewood and assign it to the Fire which is the medium of chastisement.

5) A host of religious (Islamic) rites has been ordained by Allah Ta'ala for honouring and respecting the dead human body. These cannot be observed if the human body is assigned into hell on earth even before reaching the Hereafter.

6) Allah Ta'ala created man from sand. Since his origin was from the earth, on death he is assigned again to earth, hence the Qur'aan Majeed says in this regard: "From it (i.e. the earth) have We created you, and to it (the earth) shall We return you (i.e. to the grave), and from it shall We resurrect you a second time (in Qiyaamah)."

Some senior Ulama have narrated that some of the gods which Hindus worship were jinn. Jinn were created from fire. It is therefore probable that when they die they are cremated and returned to their primordial matter, like human beings are returned to their original matter (namely sand). Since Hindus, among the numerous objects they worship, also worship jinn, it is quite probable that the shayaateen (who are evil jinn) had taught them this mode of disposing their bodies.