Is it permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave, or is it not permissible?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you with good. Is it permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave, or is it not permissible?
Answer:
It is not permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave, and it is not permissible to leave this mosque in place if the Muslims have the ability and authority to remove it. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade building mosques over graves; indeed, he cursed the one who did so and informed us that it was the practice of the Jews and the Christians. This is because it opens the doors to shirk (associating partners with Allah) and the worship of other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, it is not permissible to build mosques over graves, nor is it permissible for them to remain if the Muslims have authority over them. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave any prominent grave except that you level it," meaning demolish it, "and do not leave any image except that you obliterate it." This applies to the one who has the ability to remove them. As for the one who does not have the ability to remove them, he should clarify this ruling to the people, explain it to them, and denounce it with his tongue, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 49a Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2172Sahih (Darussalam) It is not permissible to pray in these mosques built over graves, because it is a prayer that has been forbidden, and prohibition entails the prevention of corruption. Therefore, prayer in them is not permissible. Whoever prays in them, his prayer is not valid, and he must repeat it. Yes.
May Allah reward you with good. Is it permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave, or is it not permissible?
Answer:
It is not permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave, and it is not permissible to leave this mosque in place if the Muslims have the ability and authority to remove it. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade building mosques over graves; indeed, he cursed the one who did so and informed us that it was the practice of the Jews and the Christians. This is because it opens the doors to shirk (associating partners with Allah) and the worship of other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, it is not permissible to build mosques over graves, nor is it permissible for them to remain if the Muslims have authority over them. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave any prominent grave except that you level it," meaning demolish it, "and do not leave any image except that you obliterate it." This applies to the one who has the ability to remove them. As for the one who does not have the ability to remove them, he should clarify this ruling to the people, explain it to them, and denounce it with his tongue, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength
من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطعthen with his heart. That is the weakest of faith.
فبقلبه، وذلك أضعف الإيمان،
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تجوز الصلاة في مسجد فيه قبر أو لا تجوز؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.