What is the evidence for the impermissibility of praying in a mosque that contains a grave?

The questioner : What is the evidence for not praying in mosques that have graves in them?

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you; this question requires a long study, and I have a specific book on this issue. If you have a desire to read, refer to it. The name of the book is "Warning the Prostrator from Taking Graves as Mosques," a book of about one hundred and fifty pages. So what can I answer you now at this moment? I will shorten the answer.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : I will shorten the answer and say: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This hadith is narrated by a group of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), among them the Lady Aisha. She provided us with a benefit from among all the Companions who narrated this hadith. She said after narrating the hadith: "And were it not for that, his grave would have been made prominent, but it was feared that it would be taken as a mosque." She means that were it not for this curse that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned regarding the Jews and Christians, that they took the graves of their prophets as mosques, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have been buried in prominent ground when he died, were it not for that. But because this reality was a fact—that the Jews and Christians were cursed for taking the graves of their prophets as mosques—the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was not buried in prominent ground, but rather in his noble chamber. Why? So that people would not be able to build a mosque over it, as the Jews and Christians did. "And were it not for that, his grave would have been made prominent, but it was feared that it would be taken as a mosque." Therefore, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and the Companions differed regarding the place of his burial, a hadith narrated by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) resolved the difference. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: . And the Messenger of Allah (as you all know) died in his house, in his chamber. So they dug for him in his house, under his bed, and lowered him into his grave. Thus, no one at all, in the era of the Companions, in the era of the wives of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), could come to the grave of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); because it was in the house where the Lady Aisha was, and she lived a long time after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And it is very, very regrettable that the rulers who were in that time were heedless of these hadiths first, and of the purpose that the Wise Lawgiver intended when He inspired the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to inform the Muslims that he should be buried in his house. The purpose of that was that the Muslims would not be able to build a mosque over his grave, as the Lady Aisha mentioned. So it is very regrettable that some of the rulers in that time were heedless of this. When they were compelled to expand the Prophet’s Mosque, they expanded it at the expense of the house of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They removed the wall that separated the mosque from the house, and they added the houses of the wives of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to the mosque. So the grave became in the mosque, as is observed today. And this is contrary to all the hadiths.
And among the hadiths—and I conclude the answer with this so that it does not occur to the minds of some people who are limited in knowledge, thought, and reflection: "Well, what are we doing if the Jews and Christians were cursed, are we like their story?!"—there comes another hadith, which is the one with which I end this answer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So this ruling—that is, the curse—is not specific to the Jews and Christians, but rather it is specific to everyone who did what the Jews and Christians did; whoever built a mosque over the grave of a prophet and worshipped Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in it. And this is all from the chapter of blocking the means (sadd al-dhara'i'), preventing the Muslim from approaching shirk (associating partners with Allah) in any of its types. That is: this is the realization of the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): .
And we see—with great regret—that these mosques that were built over the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, other than Allah is called upon in them. So who is able to deny the people who come to the Banu Umayyah Mosque; especially to pray at the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him), and to make du'a' (supplication) at his grave, and to seek aid (istighathah) and tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) through him. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: . So it is not permissible to pray in the mosque built over the grave; because this is the action of the Jews and Christians and the action of those whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) cursed. So the Muslim who is eager for his religion should intentionally pray in the mosques that were built on the fear of Allah and do not contain anything of what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden, such as a grave in the mosque.
This is a summary of the answer to the previous question. And whoever wants elaboration and detail, let him refer to my previously mentioned book.
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