Establishing a mosque on land that contained old graves
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 11086 ):
Q: Our mosque in the town of Bayanang in the Lanao del region has a wall that was built after a devastating earthquake struck the area in 1955, which destroyed its walls and foundations. The authorities and the town leaders decided to repair it and agreed to level the land on the eastern side of the aforementioned mosque, knowing that this area of land was previously used as a cemetery for burying the dead. When this land was leveled using modern machinery (bulldozers), a large number of bones from the remains of the dead were found. They were reburied, and some of them were moved to the western part of the mosque, but inside the wall of the current mosque. 1 - Is it permissible to perform the Friday prayer and congregational prayers inside this mosque? 2 - If the answer is negative, is it possible to address the matter by installing a barrier or partition wall inside the western side of this mosque where the bones of the dead were moved, as is the case in
the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah al-Munawwarah in Saudi Arabia ? 3 - If the answer to the last question is negative, is it possible to address this matter by building a second floor to perform the obligatory prayers, while leaving the ground floor open for other purposes besides prayer? 4 - Is it possible to continue performing the daily obligatory prayers inside this mosque while the search continues to find a suitable site for building a new mosque?
A: If the current mosque was not built on land containing graves, it is obligatory to dig up the graves placed in its western side and move their remains to the cemetery land. If they are from Muslims, they are moved to the Muslims' graves; if they are graves of disbelievers, they are moved to the disbelievers' cemetery. The remains of each Muslim deceased should be placed in a single grave, with its surface leveled like the other graves so that it is not desecrated. If it is not possible to move the remains from the west of the mosque, there is no harm in separating them with a wall that separates them from the rest of the mosque. However, if the original land of the mosque contains graves, it is obligatory to seek other sound land on which the mosque is built, and the original mosque land remains a cemetery as it was. As for the Prophet's Mosque , it was not built on graves; rather, the three graves were outside the mosque
and they are: the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the graves of his two companions (may Allah be pleased with them both) Abu Bakr and Umar . These graves were in the house of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). When al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik expanded the mosque, he included the chamber in the mosque and separated it with the wall surrounding it on all sides. And success is from Allah. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Q: Our mosque in the town of Bayanang in the Lanao del region has a wall that was built after a devastating earthquake struck the area in 1955, which destroyed its walls and foundations. The authorities and the town leaders decided to repair it and agreed to level the land on the eastern side of the aforementioned mosque, knowing that this area of land was previously used as a cemetery for burying the dead. When this land was leveled using modern machinery (bulldozers), a large number of bones from the remains of the dead were found. They were reburied, and some of them were moved to the western part of the mosque, but inside the wall of the current mosque. 1 - Is it permissible to perform the Friday prayer and congregational prayers inside this mosque? 2 - If the answer is negative, is it possible to address the matter by installing a barrier or partition wall inside the western side of this mosque where the bones of the dead were moved, as is the case in
the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah al-Munawwarah in Saudi Arabia ? 3 - If the answer to the last question is negative, is it possible to address this matter by building a second floor to perform the obligatory prayers, while leaving the ground floor open for other purposes besides prayer? 4 - Is it possible to continue performing the daily obligatory prayers inside this mosque while the search continues to find a suitable site for building a new mosque?
A: If the current mosque was not built on land containing graves, it is obligatory to dig up the graves placed in its western side and move their remains to the cemetery land. If they are from Muslims, they are moved to the Muslims' graves; if they are graves of disbelievers, they are moved to the disbelievers' cemetery. The remains of each Muslim deceased should be placed in a single grave, with its surface leveled like the other graves so that it is not desecrated. If it is not possible to move the remains from the west of the mosque, there is no harm in separating them with a wall that separates them from the rest of the mosque. However, if the original land of the mosque contains graves, it is obligatory to seek other sound land on which the mosque is built, and the original mosque land remains a cemetery as it was. As for the Prophet's Mosque , it was not built on graves; rather, the three graves were outside the mosque
and they are: the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the graves of his two companions (may Allah be pleased with them both) Abu Bakr and Umar . These graves were in the house of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). When al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik expanded the mosque, he included the chamber in the mosque and separated it with the wall surrounding it on all sides. And success is from Allah. 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.