The Ruling on Writing on the Walls of Graveyards and on the Graves

Question:
Honorable Shaykh! We see that in some graveyards, poetic phrases are written on the walls, reminding people to greet the inhabitants of the graves. What is the ruling on this practice?

Answer:
This action is not permissible; writing on graves is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade writing on graves, so one should not write the name of the deceased or his date, because this is a means to excess. If this writing is read, people say, “This is a righteous man,” or “a verified scholar,” and so on. No, they attribute blessing to him. But if nothing is written on it, it is not known; it is not known who it is, and no excess occurs regarding it. Only his relatives know it; the rest of the people do not know it. But if it is written on it, all people attach themselves to this writing and read it, and this incites the common people and the ignorant to magnify this grave.
So, writing on the graves is forbidden. Plastering the graves is forbidden, whether plastered or painted with colors, or illuminated, or otherwise; all of this is not permissible, because this is a means to magnifying them and excess in them. However, it is permissible for a person to place a marker on the grave he knows, whether it is a grave or a stone, which he visits and for which he makes du'a, because this is what everyone knows. What is not known is the harm of the writing, or the plastering, or the coloring, or the illumination, which harms people.