Digging a water well and placing the name of the digger on it or on the grave
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This is the death of al-Muhaysini. He says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on digging a water well and placing a monument with the name of the one who dug the grave next to it?
The Shaykh:
This is not permissible. The grave is buried with the graves in the Muslim cemeteries, and it is not buried alone outside the cemeteries. Even if the intention is... If the intention behind this is that this is the one who brought forth this water and dug this well, then this is also showing off (riya'), and it invalidates the deed.
The dead of the Muslims are buried in the cemeteries, and supplication is made for them, and their deeds are not lost with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). There is no need to publicize them or place markers on their graves so that it is said, "This is the benefactor so-and-so" or "This is so-and-so." Rather, it is not permissible to build structures on graves, nor is it permissible to place distinguishing marks, writings, or anything else on them, or to decorate or plaster them. This is not permissible; it is forbidden because it is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah) (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. I mean, Honorable Shaykh, if one digs, for example, a water well for people to drink from, and writes next to it, for example, "So-and-so dug this well."
The Shaykh:
There is no need for this. He keeps his deed hidden, and Allah does not let anything of it be lost. If the intention behind this is, for example, boasting with it, then this is what invalidates the deed. And if this is not the intention, and the intention is only that people make supplication for him, then there is no need for this. People will make supplication for him when they come to this well and drink from it; they will make supplication for the one who dug it. And the reward is not lost with Allah. So there is no need for the writing. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
This is the death of al-Muhaysini. He says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on digging a water well and placing a monument with the name of the one who dug the grave next to it?
The Shaykh:
This is not permissible. The grave is buried with the graves in the Muslim cemeteries, and it is not buried alone outside the cemeteries. Even if the intention is... If the intention behind this is that this is the one who brought forth this water and dug this well, then this is also showing off (riya'), and it invalidates the deed.
The dead of the Muslims are buried in the cemeteries, and supplication is made for them, and their deeds are not lost with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). There is no need to publicize them or place markers on their graves so that it is said, "This is the benefactor so-and-so" or "This is so-and-so." Rather, it is not permissible to build structures on graves, nor is it permissible to place distinguishing marks, writings, or anything else on them, or to decorate or plaster them. This is not permissible; it is forbidden because it is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah) (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. I mean, Honorable Shaykh, if one digs, for example, a water well for people to drink from, and writes next to it, for example, "So-and-so dug this well."
The Shaykh:
There is no need for this. He keeps his deed hidden, and Allah does not let anything of it be lost. If the intention behind this is, for example, boasting with it, then this is what invalidates the deed. And if this is not the intention, and the intention is only that people make supplication for him, then there is no need for this. People will make supplication for him when they come to this well and drink from it; they will make supplication for the one who dug it. And the reward is not lost with Allah. So there is no need for the writing. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، برنامج (فتاوى) (058) لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان بتاريخ [1435-07-16] - كبار العلماء — youtube.com (12:19)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.