What is the ruling on praying in a mosque that has been built on top of graveyards?
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Answers to questions via telephone
The questioner : Our teacher, we asked you previously about the mosque that was built on land that had a graveyard in it. Some claim that this mosque did not end up on a graveyard; there was nothing in this place, the mosque, no graves. However, this mosque has graves around it, first in front of it toward the qiblah, and then on its sides. And some of the brothers said that it is permissible, yes, to pray
in this mosque, and there is no harm in that. But we asked him, what is your evidence for that? He said, there may be graves under this mosque where we are, or in any place. So what is your response to that?
The Shaykh : I say, and success is from Allah, first we must know the ruling on mosques built on graves. The answer is detailed in a specific book of mine titled "Warning the Worshipper from Taking Graves as Mosques." The summary of that is that a mosque built on graves, where it is the preponderant opinion, is not permissible to pray in, and this is the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah be pleased with him). There is no doubt that it is obligatory to distinguish between a mosque built on a known graveyard, even if it is the preponderant opinion that that land was a graveyard and then the mosque was established on it. Then it is not necessary for the graves, or for the grave, to be visibly prominent in this mosque. If the graves are truly in the land, it is not permissible to establish a mosque on the graveyard at all, whether the graves are prominent and raised or not. As for saying that any mosque built on land could have that land originally been a graveyard or contain graves, we say this is a true statement. Long ago, some of them said, and I think it was al-Ma'arri,
"These are our graves that fill the spacious place, so where are the graves of the time of 'Ad?
He lightened I do not think the skin of the earth except from these bodies
But there is a difference between land known to have been a graveyard, or where there are signs of graves during excavations, and land where nothing of that is known to be in it. This distinction is necessary. Therefore, it is not permissible to expand on the paths of possibilities that one of them mentioned just now. It is also not permissible to nullify the rulings of the Shari'ah with such assumptions. So the issue revolves around either there being knowledge that this mosque was built on a grave, even if this knowledge is based on the preponderant opinion, or a mosque built on land where it does not cross anyone's mind that there is a grave or graves. It is necessary to distinguish between the two matters, otherwise the confused will be mixed with the clear, and the haram with the halal. If we assume that the mosque mentioned in the question just now was truly not built on a grave or graves, but since the graves surround it on its east and west sides and in its qiblah direction as well, this situation suggests that the mosque was built on the graveyard. However, I heard from some of them that graves and bones of the dead were found in some parts of the foundation of this mosque. This suggests that the land of the mosque cannot be free from having graves in it. In any case, if we assume with certainty that there is no grave in this mosque and that it was not built on a graveyard, the problem remains from the aspect that it is surrounded by graves, especially in the qiblah direction. In this case, Imam Ahmad says that it is necessary to build a wall or fence that separates the graveyard from the mosque. That is, in the ijtihad of Imam Ahmad, the qiblah wall of the mosque is not sufficient as a separator between it and the graveyard. Rather, it is necessary to build another wall that separates the graveyard from the qiblah wall of the mosque. Some of them were asked what the distance should be. Of course, this has no fixed limit. The important thing is that there is this separator wall between the wall of the mosque and the graveyard. This is our answer to this question, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Abu Layla : Some of the brothers say that this statement is not applied to the likes of the Jews regarding graves or sanctity.
The Shaykh : How do you mean?
Abu Layla : I mean, for example, the Jews took
The Shaykh : their graves as mosques
The questioner : so this is not applied in this case.
The Shaykh : Why?
Abu Layla : They say, some of the brothers, but I...
The Shaykh : No, I say they say this, why is it not applied?
Abu Layla : Yes, because those are intentional regarding the graves, whereas the mosques here are not intentional in that the mosques are on graves.
The Shaykh : Ah, I understand now. The answer is that praying in a mosque built on a grave or graves is like praying in the disliked times. In the authentic hadiths, there is a prohibition against praying when the sun is rising and when it is setting. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained in some authentic narrations from him that when the sun rises and when it sets, it rises and sets between the horns of Shaytan, and at that time, the worshippers of the sun prostrate to it. So the scholars are all agreed on the prohibition of praying in these two times. It is not a condition for committing the prohibition that one intends to pray in the time of dislike, because it is sufficient for that that one resembles those who worship the sun. Likewise, it is said exactly regarding the mosque built on a grave. This mosque built on a grave, first, is like the churches and synagogues in which the Jews and Christians worship. The image of resemblance is clear in this structure, which is the mosque built on a grave, on one hand, and those who pray in that place, regardless of their intentions and purposes, on the other hand. They also resemble the Jews and Christians who pray in their mosques built on the graves of their prophets and righteous people. So it is not a condition here for the matter to be prohibited that it be said that one intends it. Because the matter revolves around two people: one who does not intend the mosque for the sake of the grave, and the other who does intend it. So the latter is worse than the former, and the former does not escape the evil because he prays in a place where he resembles the Jews and Christians. For this reason, these brothers must understand the religion and not think that the rulings of the Shari'ah and the prohibitions in the Islamic Shari'ah are not haram except with the intention of evil. A person may commit a haram without intending evil, and its ruling remains haram. An example of that is what I mentioned just now of praying when the sun is rising and when it is setting. This is from the practice of the worshippers of the moons and the suns. The one who prays in this time does not cross his mind to exalt the sun, but nevertheless, he is prohibited from doing so so that no resemblance appears between the Muslim in that time and the disbeliever. This is the answer to the previous question.
Abu Layla : My teacher, now regarding the mosque you mentioned, if a wall is built opposite, of course, the qiblah, do we start as before with the impermissibility of praying in it, or...
The Shaykh : This returns, may Allah bless you, to the belief of the worshippers or to their knowledge and personal conviction. It is not following desire that this mosque, which is surrounded by graves from the western side, the eastern side, and the qiblah side, how was this graveyard built and this place left empty until some people in the last of times built a mosque in this place, and this place was never a graveyard? This matter returns to the conviction of those who want to pray. Are they truly convinced that this mosque was not established on a graveyard? And if it is said, yes, they are convinced. How do you view the matter? How was the graveyard built to the east, west, and south...
Abu Layla : South and west, only two sides.
The Shaykh : It is not important. We will accept your statement of two sides, the western side and the southern side. This empty space, this land, how did it remain like this without any mound in it to distinguish it? And is this graveyard the property of a person, or is it a waqf for the Muslims?
Abu Layla : It is the property of a person, my teacher.
The Shaykh : The graveyard.
Abu Layla : Yes, and it was sold recently, where it was the property of a person, and the burial in it was random, meaning not like the Saba' graveyard. If the matter were like the Saba' graveyard, a person would be more reassured...
The Shaykh : No, no, we are now saying that the graves were built on this land randomly, as you say. What determined this direction and that direction? And why did the random steps not extend to this place where the mosque was built? If the mosque had been built long ago before the cemetery, and people came and were forced to build around the mosque because the mosque is enclosed by walls; but the case is the opposite: the cemetery came first, and then the mosque was built on that land. How can one imagine this? And added to that, I heard from some of our brothers there that during the excavations for the mosque's foundation, they found graves.
Abu Layla : Well, if they were mistaken, meaning under the foundations of the walls, not under the foundations of the existing building, do we suspect that there might be [graves] under the mosque's foundations?
The Shaykh : Under what?
Abu Layla : The walls that are for ventilation, meaning like this wall, not under the building, for example, like this, under this.
The Shaykh : And is this the mosque's wall?
Abu Layla : Yes, meaning they found the foundations under this.
The Shaykh : I understand, I understand, and this is the mosque's wall.
Abu Layla : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : This is the mosque's wall.
Abu Layla : Yes, this is the mosque's wall, and this wall belongs to it.
The Shaykh : This does not affect [the ruling].
Abu Layla : Yes, this does not affect [the ruling] if there is [something] under it...
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Abu Layla : What would affect [the ruling] is if it were directly under the mosque.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Abu Layla : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Abu Layla : My teacher, regarding whether there is evidence for the possession of humans by jinn.
The Shaykh : Of course, it is present in the Qur'an, where Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:275]. And that is the one who is possessed. And there are hadiths that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to expel the jinn from some of those afflicted with epilepsy; and Ibn Taymiyyah was known for doing that, following the example of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); so this is well known. And then there is something that has no relation to epilepsy, but it is among the matters of the unseen, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4719Sahih (Al-Albani). So Satan is not a substance from the substance of the human being such that a substance cannot dissolve in a substance. No, Satan is, by some approximation, like air, like light; if you put it in a dark place, it illuminates it...
Interruption in the recording, the telephone rings atThe Shaykh : and a person greetsThe Shaykh
The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : How are you, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah for the good. How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : May everyone be well.
The questioner: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The questioner : How is your health today?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, may Allah welcome you.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : My Shaykh, I want to ask.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : Our teacher, we asked you previously about the mosque that was built on land that had a graveyard in it. Some claim that this mosque did not end up on a graveyard; there was nothing in this place, the mosque, no graves. However, this mosque has graves around it, first in front of it toward the qiblah, and then on its sides. And some of the brothers said that it is permissible, yes, to pray
in this mosque, and there is no harm in that. But we asked him, what is your evidence for that? He said, there may be graves under this mosque where we are, or in any place. So what is your response to that?
The Shaykh : I say, and success is from Allah, first we must know the ruling on mosques built on graves. The answer is detailed in a specific book of mine titled "Warning the Worshipper from Taking Graves as Mosques." The summary of that is that a mosque built on graves, where it is the preponderant opinion, is not permissible to pray in, and this is the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah be pleased with him). There is no doubt that it is obligatory to distinguish between a mosque built on a known graveyard, even if it is the preponderant opinion that that land was a graveyard and then the mosque was established on it. Then it is not necessary for the graves, or for the grave, to be visibly prominent in this mosque. If the graves are truly in the land, it is not permissible to establish a mosque on the graveyard at all, whether the graves are prominent and raised or not. As for saying that any mosque built on land could have that land originally been a graveyard or contain graves, we say this is a true statement. Long ago, some of them said, and I think it was al-Ma'arri,
"These are our graves that fill the spacious place, so where are the graves of the time of 'Ad?
He lightened
the earth
الارضBut there is a difference between land known to have been a graveyard, or where there are signs of graves during excavations, and land where nothing of that is known to be in it. This distinction is necessary. Therefore, it is not permissible to expand on the paths of possibilities that one of them mentioned just now. It is also not permissible to nullify the rulings of the Shari'ah with such assumptions. So the issue revolves around either there being knowledge that this mosque was built on a grave, even if this knowledge is based on the preponderant opinion, or a mosque built on land where it does not cross anyone's mind that there is a grave or graves. It is necessary to distinguish between the two matters, otherwise the confused will be mixed with the clear, and the haram with the halal. If we assume that the mosque mentioned in the question just now was truly not built on a grave or graves, but since the graves surround it on its east and west sides and in its qiblah direction as well, this situation suggests that the mosque was built on the graveyard. However, I heard from some of them that graves and bones of the dead were found in some parts of the foundation of this mosque. This suggests that the land of the mosque cannot be free from having graves in it. In any case, if we assume with certainty that there is no grave in this mosque and that it was not built on a graveyard, the problem remains from the aspect that it is surrounded by graves, especially in the qiblah direction. In this case, Imam Ahmad says that it is necessary to build a wall or fence that separates the graveyard from the mosque. That is, in the ijtihad of Imam Ahmad, the qiblah wall of the mosque is not sufficient as a separator between it and the graveyard. Rather, it is necessary to build another wall that separates the graveyard from the qiblah wall of the mosque. Some of them were asked what the distance should be. Of course, this has no fixed limit. The important thing is that there is this separator wall between the wall of the mosque and the graveyard. This is our answer to this question, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Abu Layla : Some of the brothers say that this statement is not applied to the likes of the Jews regarding graves or sanctity.
The Shaykh : How do you mean?
Abu Layla : I mean, for example, the Jews took
The Shaykh : their graves as mosques
The questioner : so this is not applied in this case.
The Shaykh : Why?
Abu Layla : They say, some of the brothers, but I...
The Shaykh : No, I say they say this, why is it not applied?
Abu Layla : Yes, because those are intentional regarding the graves, whereas the mosques here are not intentional in that the mosques are on graves.
The Shaykh : Ah, I understand now. The answer is that praying in a mosque built on a grave or graves is like praying in the disliked times. In the authentic hadiths, there is a prohibition against praying when the sun is rising and when it is setting. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained in some authentic narrations from him that when the sun rises and when it sets, it rises and sets between the horns of Shaytan, and at that time, the worshippers of the sun prostrate to it. So the scholars are all agreed on the prohibition of praying in these two times. It is not a condition for committing the prohibition that one intends to pray in the time of dislike, because it is sufficient for that that one resembles those who worship the sun. Likewise, it is said exactly regarding the mosque built on a grave. This mosque built on a grave, first, is like the churches and synagogues in which the Jews and Christians worship. The image of resemblance is clear in this structure, which is the mosque built on a grave, on one hand, and those who pray in that place, regardless of their intentions and purposes, on the other hand. They also resemble the Jews and Christians who pray in their mosques built on the graves of their prophets and righteous people. So it is not a condition here for the matter to be prohibited that it be said that one intends it. Because the matter revolves around two people: one who does not intend the mosque for the sake of the grave, and the other who does intend it. So the latter is worse than the former, and the former does not escape the evil because he prays in a place where he resembles the Jews and Christians. For this reason, these brothers must understand the religion and not think that the rulings of the Shari'ah and the prohibitions in the Islamic Shari'ah are not haram except with the intention of evil. A person may commit a haram without intending evil, and its ruling remains haram. An example of that is what I mentioned just now of praying when the sun is rising and when it is setting. This is from the practice of the worshippers of the moons and the suns. The one who prays in this time does not cross his mind to exalt the sun, but nevertheless, he is prohibited from doing so so that no resemblance appears between the Muslim in that time and the disbeliever. This is the answer to the previous question.
Abu Layla : My teacher, now regarding the mosque you mentioned, if a wall is built opposite, of course, the qiblah, do we start as before with the impermissibility of praying in it, or...
The Shaykh : This returns, may Allah bless you, to the belief of the worshippers or to their knowledge and personal conviction. It is not following desire that this mosque, which is surrounded by graves from the western side, the eastern side, and the qiblah side, how was this graveyard built and this place left empty until some people in the last of times built a mosque in this place, and this place was never a graveyard? This matter returns to the conviction of those who want to pray. Are they truly convinced that this mosque was not established on a graveyard? And if it is said, yes, they are convinced. How do you view the matter? How was the graveyard built to the east, west, and south...
Abu Layla : South and west, only two sides.
The Shaykh : It is not important. We will accept your statement of two sides, the western side and the southern side. This empty space, this land, how did it remain like this without any mound in it to distinguish it? And is this graveyard the property of a person, or is it a waqf for the Muslims?
Abu Layla : It is the property of a person, my teacher.
The Shaykh : The graveyard.
Abu Layla : Yes, and it was sold recently, where it was the property of a person, and the burial in it was random, meaning not like the Saba' graveyard. If the matter were like the Saba' graveyard, a person would be more reassured...
The Shaykh : No, no, we are now saying that the graves were built on this land randomly, as you say. What determined this direction and that direction? And why did the random steps not extend to this place where the mosque was built? If the mosque had been built long ago before the cemetery, and people came and were forced to build around the mosque because the mosque is enclosed by walls; but the case is the opposite: the cemetery came first, and then the mosque was built on that land. How can one imagine this? And added to that, I heard from some of our brothers there that during the excavations for the mosque's foundation, they found graves.
Abu Layla : Well, if they were mistaken, meaning under the foundations of the walls, not under the foundations of the existing building, do we suspect that there might be [graves] under the mosque's foundations?
The Shaykh : Under what?
Abu Layla : The walls that are for ventilation, meaning like this wall, not under the building, for example, like this, under this.
The Shaykh : And is this the mosque's wall?
Abu Layla : Yes, meaning they found the foundations under this.
The Shaykh : I understand, I understand, and this is the mosque's wall.
Abu Layla : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : This is the mosque's wall.
Abu Layla : Yes, this is the mosque's wall, and this wall belongs to it.
The Shaykh : This does not affect [the ruling].
Abu Layla : Yes, this does not affect [the ruling] if there is [something] under it...
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Abu Layla : What would affect [the ruling] is if it were directly under the mosque.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Abu Layla : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Abu Layla : My teacher, regarding whether there is evidence for the possession of humans by jinn.
The Shaykh : Of course, it is present in the Qur'an, where Allah the Exalted said:
as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity
كالذي يتخبطه الشيطان من المسThe devil flows in a man like his blood.
إن الشيطان يجري من ابن آدم مجرى الدمInterruption in the recording, the telephone rings atThe Shaykh : and a person greetsThe Shaykh
The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : How are you, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah for the good. How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : May everyone be well.
The questioner: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The questioner : How is your health today?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, may Allah welcome you.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : My Shaykh, I want to ask.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.