Placing markers on the graves of their dead to the extent that it is feared
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Fatwa number ( 18587 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Highness the Prince of the Riyadh Region, number (3103 5) dated 25/7/1416 AH, accompanied by the proposal submitted to him by the honorable Shaykh: Abdullah ibn Saleh al-Qasir , regarding the marking of graves, etc., which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, number (3735) dated 1/8/1416 AH. The text of what his eminence submitted is as follows: It is observed by visitors to the cemeteries in recent times—perhaps due to the large number of
visitors from Islamic countries—that some people exaggerate in placing markers on the graves of their dead to the extent that it is feared that many customs and matters of religious innovation contrary to the Islamic Shari'ah will be transferred to this country. If Your Highness—may Allah reward you—would direct the competent authorities to study the idea of numbering the graves in each row, and if the idea is positive, the opinion of the Ifta authority should be sought from the legal perspective to generalize this, perhaps that would achieve the intention of the deceased's relatives and cut off the means for the emergence of innovations in those pure lands?
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered that the Sunnah indicates the permissibility of informing the deceased's family of the location of their grave with a stone or the like, as in the Sunan of Abu Dawud , where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) marked the grave of Uthman ibn Maz'un with a stone and said: "Mark the grave of my brother with it." As for placing numbers on graves, it is not permissible because it is a form of writing on graves, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade. It is also necessary to prevent plastering graves, painting them, building on them, and the like of innovations, because it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he forbade plastering graves, building on them, and writing on them. Furthermore, what is required of the deceased's relatives is to make du'a' for their deceased and seek mercy for them, whether they know the location of the grave or not.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Highness the Prince of the Riyadh Region, number (3103 5) dated 25/7/1416 AH, accompanied by the proposal submitted to him by the honorable Shaykh: Abdullah ibn Saleh al-Qasir , regarding the marking of graves, etc., which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, number (3735) dated 1/8/1416 AH. The text of what his eminence submitted is as follows: It is observed by visitors to the cemeteries in recent times—perhaps due to the large number of
visitors from Islamic countries—that some people exaggerate in placing markers on the graves of their dead to the extent that it is feared that many customs and matters of religious innovation contrary to the Islamic Shari'ah will be transferred to this country. If Your Highness—may Allah reward you—would direct the competent authorities to study the idea of numbering the graves in each row, and if the idea is positive, the opinion of the Ifta authority should be sought from the legal perspective to generalize this, perhaps that would achieve the intention of the deceased's relatives and cut off the means for the emergence of innovations in those pure lands?
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered that the Sunnah indicates the permissibility of informing the deceased's family of the location of their grave with a stone or the like, as in the Sunan of Abu Dawud , where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) marked the grave of Uthman ibn Maz'un with a stone and said: "Mark the grave of my brother with it." As for placing numbers on graves, it is not permissible because it is a form of writing on graves, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade. It is also necessary to prevent plastering graves, painting them, building on them, and the like of innovations, because it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he forbade plastering graves, building on them, and writing on them. Furthermore, what is required of the deceased's relatives is to make du'a' for their deceased and seek mercy for them, whether they know the location of the grave or not.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.