What is the ruling on walking between graves wearing shoes? And is it permissible to sit on graves, and is there a distinction between the graves of Muslims and the graves of polytheists, or not?

The questioner : O Shaykh, regarding walking between graves with shoes or without shoes, and whether the graves are specifically those of Muslims or if they are the graves of polytheists, and likewise sitting on them, is there a distinction between the grave of a Muslim and the grave of a polytheist, and walking between them with shoes or without shoes?

The Shaykh : Yes. There is no doubt that this ruling differs between the graves of Muslims and the graves of polytheists. That is because the polytheists had no sanctity during their lifetimes, so it is even more so that they have no sanctity after their death. As for the Muslim, he is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: From this angle, this hadith gives us what we also understood from our last hadith, This hadith converges with the hadith of How do they converge? It grants sanctity, status, and respect to the believer, even after his death. Therefore, it is not permissible to break his bone while he is dead, just as it was not permissible to break it while he was alive. This means that the Wise Lawgiver commands us to respect the dead of the Muslims. From this point, it converges with the first hadith, out of respect for it, and to exalt it, because prayer is not permissible except facing the House of Allah the Sacred. So this first hadith, combines two qualities that achieve justice with the dead of the Muslims: they are not humiliated, they are not trampled upon, and they are not exalted in a way that compromises the oneness of Allah. Likewise, his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: If the matter is so, another etiquette follows from it, to align with his saying: meaning, do not trample the graves, do not trample the graves with your shoes. If it is absolutely necessary, and this is a reality, that one must walk in the graves at times, and at least to bury a dead person, then at that time comes his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, which is established in the Sunan and the Musnad: If the command is to remove the shoes in this hadith, it is from the perspective of respect and etiquette with these Muslims. As for the disbelievers, they have no sanctity and no covenant, especially after their death, after they have returned to a pit of the pits of the Fire. I hope I have answered you!

The questioner : O Shaykh, is this between the graves? Likewise, he removes his shoes, not between the cemeteries... .

The Shaykh : It is between the graves!

The questioner : He does not trample the cemeteries!

The Shaykh : It is between the graves, may Allah reward you. Because the hadith came regarding what? He was trampling on the graves! He was walking in a normal manner between the graves, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) called out to him and said to him: Trampling on a grave is one thing, and walking between the cemeteries is another thing in terms of reality, but they are one thing in terms of the legal ruling. So just as it is not permissible to sit directly on a grave, it is not permissible to walk between the cemeteries except for what we mentioned earlier, that you need to bury a dead person, for example, in a certain place. At that time, you must remove your shoes. There is another form that I imagine could be organized today, whereas before, they did not think of such a thing at all, which is to make a passage between sections of the cemetery where people walk. But in the end, one must enter between the graves, except that this organization mitigates the violation. So there is no objection to that... .