Writing on graves and the walls of cemeteries
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: There is no ruling for a person regarding the neighbors of the cemeteries, meaning that he sees in some cemeteries the roots of this. My brother Muslim, do not forget to greet the maqam.
The Shaykh:
Writing on graves is forbidden and not permissible, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it. There is no doubt about this. Writing on the graves themselves is forbidden because it is a means to exaggeration in them and calling upon them other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for writing on the walls of the cemeteries, this is an unnecessary elaboration that has no basis. That is, one writes on the walls of the cemeteries and thinks that this is prescribed and that this is good, when it is not prescribed.
This is not prescribed. May Allah reform the youth; they have many independent legal reasonings (ijtihad) now, among which is what the questioner mentioned: that they write "Do not forget visiting the graves" and "Do not forget making du'a' for the graves." This is something the Salaf did not do, despite their eagerness for good; they did not do it. And because this is a means to doing what is prohibited, a means to writing on the graves. Because if one writes on their walls, the matter progresses to writing on them. So this means is prevented, and one should not write on the walls, on the walls of the cemeteries, because this is a means to writing on the graves themselves. Perhaps someone will come and say, "I am concerned for this deceased person, I will write on it: Do not forget making du'a' for this deceased person, do not forget seeking forgiveness for this deceased person." Then the matter develops and he does what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah keep you safe. Evaluating the cemeteries.
The Shaykh:
And no numbering, and no walls, and no writing of any kind is permissible. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited this. Isnad.
The questioner:
A book on the calamities of al-Samahah.
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible to write his name, nor to write anything on his grave. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited writing on graves because it is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah). Not his name, not the date of his death, not his biography. All of this is forbidden and not permissible. Placing a marker that is not writing is fine; he places a stone on it.
The questioner:
I believe.
The Shaykh:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) placed a stone on the grave of Uthman ibn Maz'un for the sake of visiting it. So if he places a stone on it so that he can recognize it, there is no harm. Yes.
He says: There is no ruling for a person regarding the neighbors of the cemeteries, meaning that he sees in some cemeteries the roots of this. My brother Muslim, do not forget to greet the maqam.
The Shaykh:
Writing on graves is forbidden and not permissible, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it. There is no doubt about this. Writing on the graves themselves is forbidden because it is a means to exaggeration in them and calling upon them other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for writing on the walls of the cemeteries, this is an unnecessary elaboration that has no basis. That is, one writes on the walls of the cemeteries and thinks that this is prescribed and that this is good, when it is not prescribed.
This is not prescribed. May Allah reform the youth; they have many independent legal reasonings (ijtihad) now, among which is what the questioner mentioned: that they write "Do not forget visiting the graves" and "Do not forget making du'a' for the graves." This is something the Salaf did not do, despite their eagerness for good; they did not do it. And because this is a means to doing what is prohibited, a means to writing on the graves. Because if one writes on their walls, the matter progresses to writing on them. So this means is prevented, and one should not write on the walls, on the walls of the cemeteries, because this is a means to writing on the graves themselves. Perhaps someone will come and say, "I am concerned for this deceased person, I will write on it: Do not forget making du'a' for this deceased person, do not forget seeking forgiveness for this deceased person." Then the matter develops and he does what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah keep you safe. Evaluating the cemeteries.
The Shaykh:
And no numbering, and no walls, and no writing of any kind is permissible. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited this. Isnad.
The questioner:
A book on the calamities of al-Samahah.
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible to write his name, nor to write anything on his grave. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited writing on graves because it is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah). Not his name, not the date of his death, not his biography. All of this is forbidden and not permissible. Placing a marker that is not writing is fine; he places a stone on it.
The questioner:
I believe.
The Shaykh:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) placed a stone on the grave of Uthman ibn Maz'un for the sake of visiting it. So if he places a stone on it so that he can recognize it, there is no harm. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تابع باب الوضوء - 1 — islamhouse.com (59:04)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.