The Shaykh’s remarks on what some people do by placing stones on graves with the deceased’s name written on them so that the grave is not lost to them.

The questioner: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.

The questioner : My brother, there are thousands and thousands of graves. If we place one or two stones, they may be lost and worn away immediately. After two days, or the next day, you won’t recognize the grave.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner : Because of the large number of people and the large number of graves, and the many who walk over the graves, and sometimes with the digging, if a grave is dug next to it, this stone is lost and gone, leaving no trace.

The Shaykh : If we fix the stone, my brother, we fix it with cement, even if it is burnt, how can the stone go away?

The questioner : Shaykh, if there are graves on which brick courses have been built, and the first course has almost completely disappeared, and some graves have only one course placed on them and they have disappeared.

The Shaykh : Okay, what do you think about the concrete slabs they place to separate and block the passage? For example, there was a path up to the tower in Wadi al-Nasr, an opening, have you seen how they blocked it?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, if we pour a concrete slab and place it on top of the grave, what do you think? Is it possible to move it or remove it?

The questioner : Yes, you may.

The Shaykh : So what is impossible? Shall we build a palace on top of the grave?

The questioner : No, but some things are less severe than others.

The Shaykh : This is it, my brother, within the limits of need.

The questioner : Yes, within the limits of need.

The Shaykh : Okay, now if we pour a slab, who has to remove it? Who has to take it away?

The questioner : People’s feet, and the earth from digging. It is the process of digging. For example, right next to my father’s grave there is a grave with a concrete slab poured on it. It is now at ground level. At first, it was raised, but now it is at ground level, because they brought earth and put it in that area to plant trees, but no trees were planted, so people step on the grave and do not know that there is a grave here, to the point that people want to plow it to dig another grave.

The Shaykh : Okay, did you not place a grave marker?

The questioner : I have so far laid blocks like this in a circle, and we placed this stone as a marker. My relatives and family intend to bring a builder to build just one course of stone, which is why I am asking you.

The Shaykh : By Allah, my sir, you know the legal ruling. The original ruling is the prohibition of building on the grave.

The questioner : The original ruling is the prohibition of building.

The Shaykh : Yes, but if Allah the Exalted says, after He has forbidden the forbidden meats like pork: This means that dire necessities permit the prohibited, but it is not up to us; dire necessities are measured by their extent. Within the limits of this rule, you can act regarding additions to the grave for the purpose of maintaining it and not insulting it, but we do not sit around doing building, decoration, and ornamentation like that.

The questioner : No, no, that is not it.

The Shaykh : So you have understood, so adhere to it. Is there anything else?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : When we buried the deceased, we brought a stone and placed it as a marker for the earth, air, dust, and these people. If we came and poured a concrete slab on the surface of the ground and placed the marker without writing?

The Shaykh : This is the same issue, my sir, within the limits of need.

The questioner : Within the limits of need.

The Shaykh : But.

The questioner : But, as for raising a stone or two, this is disliked.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh: And in you, if Allah wills.

The questioner : Even the Directorate of Ifta, about two years ago, issued a fatwa in the newspaper. They mentioned the permissibility of writing on the marker, and they inferred this from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): They said that now writing is one of the means of learning or one of the means of knowing whose grave this is. What is your opinion?

The Shaykh : My opinion is known from my previous answer. Dire necessity is measured by its extent. So I say: if there is no means of marking the grave except by writing, it is permissible by the ruling of dire necessity, if there is no other means. I am now going to give you an example. Enter this cemetery, which may be the largest cemetery in this country, and you will find many markers. Right?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And on every marker is written the name of the owner of the grave. First: you will find that the writings are not within the limits of need. That is, it is not just the name that is written; the year of death, may Allah have mercy on him, al-Fatihah, and so on. Is there a need for this?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : Those who issued this fatwa did not set these conditions.

The questioner : They did not specify them, yes.

The Shaykh : You know how. This is one point. The second point: if, like Abu 'Izzat (may Allah have mercy on him), we placed a marker and drew a black line like this, did it become a marker or not?

The questioner : It became a marker.

The Shaykh : Okay, what is the purpose of the writing? Allow me, this is an example to clarify the statement we made earlier that dire necessities permit the prohibited, but what? It is measured by its extent. As long as there is a prohibition against writing, we avoid committing the prohibited, if there is an alternative to it. And here I have brought you an alternative. You now have a problem. What is your problem regarding the line?

The questioner : My problem with the line is that this marker that I placed is known only to the one who placed it.

The Shaykh : And this is intended, what would be the point?

The questioner : But for example, some relatives...

The Shaykh : What is the purpose of the writing that was permitted, while it is prohibited? Is it not that its owners know the grave?

The questioner : Yes, but for example, there are relatives who want to come to visit the grave and they do not know this convention.

The Shaykh : They know from the relatives. The relatives know by the relatives.

The questioner : Okay, it may not have reached their knowledge.

The Shaykh : And it will not reach, my sir. Let them preserve their obligatory duties. And may Allah increase their good.
Abu al-Harith: Our Shaykh, the sermon started there.