What is the ruling on praying in mosques that contain graves?

The questioner : In a second question, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : In our city, Mosul, which is in northern Iraq, there are mosques built over graves. They claim that these are the graves of prophets. There is the Mosque of Prophet Shit, the Mosque of Prophet Yunus, the Mosque of Prophet Jirjis, the Mosque of al-Khidr and Ibrahim al-Khalil, and the Mosque of Daniel.

The Shaykh : You shared this with us, may it be.

The questioner : Yes, hehehe.

The Shaykh : Ibrahim al-Khalil is with us.

The questioner : This Ibrahim al-Khalil is in the far north, meaning the Iraqi-Turkish border.

The Shaykh : The area of Ibrahim al-Khalil is a place of visitation where they worship there, okay.

The questioner : Yes, so what is the ruling on these mosques, and what is the ruling on one who prays or is praying in them? And is it permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave? May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : The answer is, of course, that it is not permissible to pray in a mosque built over a grave. There is no difference between the grave being inside the mosque, in what is called the sanctuary, or outside it, in what is called the courtyard of the mosque. Likewise, there is no difference between the grave being to the east, west, south, or north of the mosque, because the grave being in the mosque is one thing, and praying toward the grave is another. If there is land that is not a mosque, and a person prays in it, and there is a grave to his right or left, far from him, then in that case, praying in that land is permissible as long as he is not facing the grave, because in this case, the statement applies to him: The entire earth is a mosque, but an exception is made from this general rule for what is established in the prohibition in the Prophetic Sunnah. So, in land that has not been converted into a mosque, meaning no mosque has been built on it, praying in this land is permissible even if there is a grave in it, as long as he is not facing the grave, because this exception is based on a correct and explicit hadith, indeed hadiths, the most famous of which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): This is the ruling for land that contains a grave; praying in this land is permissible as long as one does not face the grave. As for land on which a mosque has been built and which contains a grave, wherever in the mosque this grave is located, it makes this mosque one in which prayer is prohibited. There is no difference, as we said earlier, between the grave being in front of the mosque, to the east, west, south, or north, because the hadiths that prohibit making mosques over graves are absolute and do not distinguish between the grave being in the direction of the qiblah, behind the qiblah, or in any other direction. Perhaps you have looked at an old treatise of mine that I titled "Warning the Prostrator from Making Graves Mosques." In it are the hadiths that were available to me at that time regarding the warning against building mosques over graves, and their most important indication on this subject, cutting off the doubts of some innovators who, whenever they find a hadith that contradicts their innovation, try to get rid of it or escape from it in one way or another. For example, they get rid of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): by saying, "This ruling is specific to the Jews and Christians; we are not Jews or Christians." Then comes the hadith I wanted to mention because it relates to this Ummah, where he said (peace and blessings be upon him): This relates to the Islamic Ummah.
But here is a point that must be clarified, which is that the prohibition of praying in mosques built over graves is like the prohibition of praying in forbidden times. It is from the category of blocking the means to harm. Just as the times in which prayer is prohibited have some degree of specification, whether small or large, I see, through deduction and independent legal reasoning, that a mosque built over a grave may be permissible to pray in under some exceptional circumstances. For example: a man is walking on his way to his home or his work, and he hears the call to prayer, knowing that this mosque contains a grave. And he knows that he must not intend to pray in this mosque. But he is between entering and praying in it, or missing the congregational prayer. If the matter turns between these two things, the obligation of the congregational prayer takes precedence over the prohibition of praying in a mosque built over a grave. This is because the prohibition of praying in a mosque built over a grave is from the category of blocking the means to harm, just as praying in disliked times is from the category of blocking the means to harm. But if the time catches up with him and there is no possibility except to leave the prayer until the time passes completely, or to pray in the time of dislike, then the latter is better than losing the prayer entirely. Likewise, if the matter turns between losing the obligatory congregational prayer and praying in a mosque of dislike, then praying in this mosque is preferred over praying alone in his home or in another place. And this, of course, means that this scenario is what we intend when we say that if it is not in his knowledge or within his ability to catch the prayer with the congregation in another mosque that does not contain a grave. Therefore, the issue is that he is between one of two things: either he prays in this mosque to catch the congregational prayer, or he misses the congregational prayer. Both are evil, but when a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the one with less harm and evil. This must be noted, because from my personal experience, I know that many of our Salafi brothers do not note this distinction. Merely knowing that a mosque contains a grave, they do not pray in it, even if they miss the congregational prayer. This is a mistake. And as I speak of this, I remembered a word that came in your first question, and I felt at the end of my answer that there seemed to be a deficiency in the answer. Now I have remembered it. You mentioned, may Allah reward you, in your first question that they deny us calling ourselves Salafis, and that this is a division. This point is where I must offer my opinion, because in reality