We have the grave of a man whom they claim is a close friend of Allah, and a dome has been built over it, with three other graves beside it, and they have placed a front section and a space for prayer inside this dome.
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The questioner : We have the grave of a man, and they say he is a close friend of Allah. A dome has been built over it, and there are approximately three other graves beside it. They have placed a front section and a space for prayer inside the aforementioned dome, and the aforementioned graves are located behind the worshippers. We pray in this dome with the graves behind us. We ask the honorable Shaykh for advice and clarification: is our prayer valid or not? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Building over graves is forbidden, and any structure built over a grave must be demolished; it is not permissible to leave it standing. Prayer in such a place is not valid; rather, it is invalid. It is not permissible for you to pray in this area, and if you do pray, you are sinful and your prayer is invalid and rejected.
Then I say: whoever says that this is the grave of a close friend of Allah may be a deceiver and a liar.
Then I say: what is a close friend of Allah? It may be a deceiver who deceived the people and claimed to be among the close friends of Allah, while he is actually among the enemies of Allah. The close friends of Allah the Exalted are the believers who are mindful of Allah, as Allah the Exalted said:[Yunus 10:62-63].
Therefore, these preliminaries are necessary: we must know that this person is among the close friends of Allah because he is a believer who is mindful of Allah, and it must be known that he was buried there. After this, the dome over him must be demolished, and prayer in it is not valid.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Building over graves is forbidden, and any structure built over a grave must be demolished; it is not permissible to leave it standing. Prayer in such a place is not valid; rather, it is invalid. It is not permissible for you to pray in this area, and if you do pray, you are sinful and your prayer is invalid and rejected.
Then I say: whoever says that this is the grave of a close friend of Allah may be a deceiver and a liar.
Then I say: what is a close friend of Allah? It may be a deceiver who deceived the people and claimed to be among the close friends of Allah, while he is actually among the enemies of Allah. The close friends of Allah the Exalted are the believers who are mindful of Allah, as Allah the Exalted said:
(62) Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve (63) Those who believed and were fearing Allah
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَTherefore, these preliminaries are necessary: we must know that this person is among the close friends of Allah because he is a believer who is mindful of Allah, and it must be known that he was buried there. After this, the dome over him must be demolished, and prayer in it is not valid.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.