The ruling on placing wreaths of flowers on the graves of disbelievers
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The questioner says: Your Eminence the Shaykh, what is the ruling on placing wreaths of flowers on the graves of disbelievers, such as [unclear] and [unclear], as some people do when they visit Russia? And is this action considered disbelief?
The Shaykh:
He does not place them, neither on the grave of disbelievers nor on the grave of Muslims, for there is no basis for it. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had placed a fresh flower on two graves of people being punished, knowing that they were being punished, that would be an exception. As for others, he does not place them. However, it does not amount to disbelief. If he places a fresh flower or a flower, he is not a disbeliever; it is a wrong religious innovation, a wrong, whether the grave is that of a disbeliever or a Muslim. Except if he places the flowers to draw near to the deceased, if he intends it as a means of drawing near to him, such as if he calls upon him besides Allah, then this is disbelief. Yes. But if he places them as a social courtesy or as a custom, placing them as a custom only, not to draw near to the deceased, then this is a blameworthy religious innovation.
Another questioner:
Exaggeration and respect.
The Shaykh:
If it is intended to draw near to him, it is [unclear]. But if it is a social courtesy to people, then this is a warning against faith.
The questioner says: Your Eminence the Shaykh, what is the ruling on placing wreaths of flowers on the graves of disbelievers, such as [unclear] and [unclear], as some people do when they visit Russia? And is this action considered disbelief?
The Shaykh:
He does not place them, neither on the grave of disbelievers nor on the grave of Muslims, for there is no basis for it. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had placed a fresh flower on two graves of people being punished, knowing that they were being punished, that would be an exception. As for others, he does not place them. However, it does not amount to disbelief. If he places a fresh flower or a flower, he is not a disbeliever; it is a wrong religious innovation, a wrong, whether the grave is that of a disbeliever or a Muslim. Except if he places the flowers to draw near to the deceased, if he intends it as a means of drawing near to him, such as if he calls upon him besides Allah, then this is disbelief. Yes. But if he places them as a social courtesy or as a custom, placing them as a custom only, not to draw near to the deceased, then this is a blameworthy religious innovation.
Another questioner:
Exaggeration and respect.
The Shaykh:
If it is intended to draw near to him, it is [unclear]. But if it is a social courtesy to people, then this is a warning against faith.
Source
فتاوى الحج 1410 هـ - 3 — archive.org (42:32)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.