The Ruling on Praying in Mosques That Contain Graves

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the ruling on the claim of some that it is permissible to pray in mosques that contain graves if the deceased was buried after the mosque was built?

Answer:
This is a distinction between what Allah the Exalted has united. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade praying at graves, whether the deceased was buried before the mosque was built or after. He forbade this because the means is the mosque, and the meaning is the same; the means is the same, whether the grave preceded the mosque or the mosque preceded the grave, the meaning is one. The one who makes this distinction is either ignorant or he is deluding people. And there are no people left except like these, and by Allah, there is no community left except like these ignorant pretenders to knowledge or unjust scholars who distort words from their proper places. We ask Allah for safety.