Ruling on building mosques over graves
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Q181: The questioner A.S. says: In our village, there is a mosque, and on its side is the grave of a shaykh who is called upon for aid. Is it permissible to remove this grave, which is built inside the mosque, and move it from its place to the external courtyard of the mosque? Also, this grave has a room in which sacrificial animals are slaughtered for vows and other things. What should we do with it? Please guide us, and may Allah guide you to success.
A181: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against building mosques over graves and making them places of worship, and he was extremely strict in this matter, with the utmost severity and warning. He said (peace and blessings be upon him):Muwatta Malik 9:93.
And he said (peace and blessings be upon him):As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 65:145 and other hadiths that prohibit this ugly practice, which leads to graves becoming idols worshipped besides Allah, with sacrifices slaughtered for them and vows made to them, as the questioner mentioned. This is among the actions of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and the actions of the Jews and the Christians regarding their prophets and righteous people. This is what caused shirk (associating partners with Allah) to occur among the people of Noah (peace be upon him); because they exaggerated in their reverence for their deceased righteous people, they worshipped them besides Allah. We ask Allah for safety and well-being. And what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against has occurred in this Ummah (Muslim community); they made graves into mosques in many regions, built domes over them, and sought their needs from them besides Allah. There is no power and no strength except in Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. As for what was asked: should the grave be dug up and removed from the mosque or not? It is obligatory for the Muslims to look into this matter. If the grave predates the mosque and the mosque was built over the grave afterwards,
then it is obligatory to remove the mosque and leave the grave as it is, for the grave has the right to remain, and the mosque was established upon shirk and upon disobedience to Allah and His Messenger, so it must be demolished. If the opposite is the case, meaning the mosque was built first on a Sharia-based foundation and sound belief, and then the grave was brought into it afterwards, then it is obligatory to dig up the grave and remove it from the mosque, and the mosque returns to its Sharia legitimacy by getting rid of this great sin. This is what is obligatory for the Muslims. And if you have a cemetery, the deceased should be buried there. May Allah guide everyone to what He loves and is pleased with, and may He guide this Ummah to apply the rulings of its religion and follow its Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
A181: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against building mosques over graves and making them places of worship, and he was extremely strict in this matter, with the utmost severity and warning. He said (peace and blessings be upon him):
The anger on those who took the graves of their Prophets as places of prostration was terrible.
اشتد غضب الله على قوم اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد"And he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
"And do not take the graves as mosques, for I forbid you from doing so"
ولا تتخذوا القبور مساجد، فإني أنهاكم عن ذلكthen it is obligatory to remove the mosque and leave the grave as it is, for the grave has the right to remain, and the mosque was established upon shirk and upon disobedience to Allah and His Messenger, so it must be demolished. If the opposite is the case, meaning the mosque was built first on a Sharia-based foundation and sound belief, and then the grave was brought into it afterwards, then it is obligatory to dig up the grave and remove it from the mosque, and the mosque returns to its Sharia legitimacy by getting rid of this great sin. This is what is obligatory for the Muslims. And if you have a cemetery, the deceased should be buried there. May Allah guide everyone to what He loves and is pleased with, and may He guide this Ummah to apply the rulings of its religion and follow its Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.