Building and praying in a mosque that contains a grave
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Fatwa number ( 4521 ):
I am sending you this message to ask you about: Q: Praying in a mosque that contains a grave, and some scholars say: It is not permissible to pray in it, and even if there is no other mosque in the town, it is better for you in terms of reward to pray in your home than to pray in that mosque which contains a grave. And some of them say: It is permissible to pray in it; because the grave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is present in his mosque along with his two companions Abu Bakr and 'Umar . The matter has become confusing to me, so I sent you this message to inquire from you about the truth and the evidence; because I live in the countryside in Senegal and there is only one mosque in our town, and this mosque has four graves. Three graves are outside the mosque but they are attached
to the building of the mosque on the qiblah side completely, while the last one is completely inside the mosque. So you must inform me of the truth and the evidence, and I know nothing about this matter, so I asked you; due to the saying of the Exalted in His Noble Book:[An-Nahl 16:43] .
A: First: It is not permissible to build mosques on graves, and it is not permissible to pray in a mosque built on a grave or graves; because it is established from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and from Jundub ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) five days before he died saying: Sahih Muslim 532 Narrated by Muslim . Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited building mosques on graves and cursed whoever did so, which indicates that it is one of the major sins. Also, building
mosques on graves and praying in them is an exaggeration in religion and a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), refuge is sought with Allah from that; therefore, 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: . Second: If a mosque is built on a grave or graves, it must be demolished; because it was founded contrary to what Allah has prescribed, and keeping it with prayer in it is persisting in the sin of its construction and an increase in exaggeration in religion and in the exaltation of the one for whom the mosque was built, and that leads to shirk, refuge is sought with Allah from that. And the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:171] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 3029Sahih (Darussalam) . However, if a mosque is built not on a grave and then a dead person is buried in it, it is not demolished, but the grave of the one buried in it is dug up and he is buried outside in the Muslim cemetery; because burying him in the mosque is an abomination, and it is removed by taking him out of it. Third: The Prophet's Mosque was founded by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the fear of Allah the Exalted and His pleasure, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not buried in it after his death, but
he was buried in the chamber of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and when Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) died, he was buried with him in the chamber, then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) died and was also buried with him in the chamber. The chamber was not in the mosque nor in its qiblah, but to the left of the praying person outside the mosque, and it was not included when 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) expanded the Prophet's Mosque , but it was included after the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). Accordingly, prayer in it is prescribed, and it is better than a thousand prayers in any other place except the Sacred Mosque , unlike others that may have been built on a grave or graves or in which a dead person was buried, for prayer in them is forbidden. Fourth: It is not permissible for you to pray the obligatory prayer in your home, but you must pray it in congregation with some of your brothers in a place other than the mosque built on a grave, even in an open space. And you must establish a mosque according to what Allah has prescribed; so that you may perform the five prayers; in accordance with the texts of the Shari'ah, and to avoid what Allah has prohibited. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
I am sending you this message to ask you about: Q: Praying in a mosque that contains a grave, and some scholars say: It is not permissible to pray in it, and even if there is no other mosque in the town, it is better for you in terms of reward to pray in your home than to pray in that mosque which contains a grave. And some of them say: It is permissible to pray in it; because the grave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is present in his mosque along with his two companions Abu Bakr and 'Umar . The matter has become confusing to me, so I sent you this message to inquire from you about the truth and the evidence; because I live in the countryside in Senegal and there is only one mosque in our town, and this mosque has four graves. Three graves are outside the mosque but they are attached
to the building of the mosque on the qiblah side completely, while the last one is completely inside the mosque. So you must inform me of the truth and the evidence, and I know nothing about this matter, so I asked you; due to the saying of the Exalted in His Noble Book:
So ask the people of the message if you do not know.
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَA: First: It is not permissible to build mosques on graves, and it is not permissible to pray in a mosque built on a grave or graves; because it is established from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:
When the illness struck the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he began to throw his cloak over his face, and when he was distressed by it, he would remove it. He said while in that state: "The curse of Allah be upon the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as mosques." He was warning against what they did, and had it not been for that, his grave would have been made visible, except that he feared it would be taken as a mosque.
لما نزل برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم طفق يطرح خميصة له على وجهه فإذا اغتم بها كشفها، فقال وهو كذلك: لعنة الله على اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد، يحذّر ما صنعوا، ولولا ذلك أبرز قبره غير أنه خشي أن يتخذ مسجدًاI stand acquitted before Allah that I took any one of you as friend, for Allah has taken me as His friend, as he took Ibrahim as His friend. Had I taken any one of my Ummah as a friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a friend. Beware of those who preceded you and used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as places of worship, but you must not take graves as mosques; I forbid you to do that.
إني أبرأ إلى الله أن يكون لي منكم خليل فإن الله قد اتخذني خليلاً، كما اتخذ إبراهيم خليلاً، ولو كنت متخذًا من أمتي خليلاً لاتخذت أبا بكر خليلاً، ألا وإن من كان قبلكم كانوا يتخذون قبور أنبيائهم وصالحيهم مساجد، ألا فلا تتخذوا القبور مساجد، فإني أنهاكم ذلكmosques on graves and praying in them is an exaggeration in religion and a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), refuge is sought with Allah from that; therefore, 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
He was warning against what they did, and had it not been for that, his grave would have been made visible, except that he feared it would be taken as a mosque.
يحذّر ما صنعوا، ولولا ذلك أبرز قبره، غير أنه خشي أن يتخذ مسجدًاdo not commit excess in your religion
لاَ تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْbeware of exaggeration in religious matters for those who came before you were doomed because of exaggeration in religious matters
إياكم والغلو في الدين فإنما أهلك من كان قبلكم الغلو في الدينhe was buried in the chamber of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and when Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) died, he was buried with him in the chamber, then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) died and was also buried with him in the chamber. The chamber was not in the mosque nor in its qiblah, but to the left of the praying person outside the mosque, and it was not included when 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) expanded the Prophet's Mosque , but it was included after the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). Accordingly, prayer in it is prescribed, and it is better than a thousand prayers in any other place except the Sacred Mosque , unlike others that may have been built on a grave or graves or in which a dead person was buried, for prayer in them is forbidden. Fourth: It is not permissible for you to pray the obligatory prayer in your home, but you must pray it in congregation with some of your brothers in a place other than the mosque built on a grave, even in an open space. And you must establish a mosque according to what Allah has prescribed; so that you may perform the five prayers; in accordance with the texts of the Shari'ah, and to avoid what Allah has prohibited. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.