The ruling on photographing graves in the cemetery and inspecting them

The questioner:
Shaykh, may Allah forgive you, yesterday journalists and a camera from the Riyadh newspaper came to the 'Ud cemetery and photographed the graves of the deceased. The gravediggers were digging the graves, and they said, "There is no power and no strength except with Allah." Some of the writers dig up the graves and take out the body parts of the dead. I said to him, "I was present for this." This is a big issue. Is it permissible to photograph the graves of the deceased, and for the gravediggers to dig and conduct an interview with them?

The Shaykh:
Photography is not permissible, neither in the cemetery nor elsewhere. Photography is forbidden. As for inspecting the graves and looking at them so that dogs do not dig them up, or so that some harm does not occur to them, that is a good thing. But photography is forbidden. And this purpose, which is inspecting the graves and looking to their benefit, does not depend on photography. Photography has no benefit; rather, it is a purpose in itself. Photography is not permissible. As for inspecting the graves, that is a good thing.

Another questioner:
The authority is the one that inspects the graves, and there are employees who go out to ensure their safety through inspection.

The Shaykh:
Nothing prevents the journalists from inspecting them and writing about them. That is a good thing if they inspect them, point out what is wrong with them, and write about them. That is a good thing, but without photography.