The Book of Friday Prayer, the Two Festivals, the Prayer for Rain, the Eclipse Prayer, and Funerals-10b
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The reciter: And Hasan ibn al-Rabi' al-Bajali narrated to us, and Ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid from Busr ibn 'Ubayd Allah from Abu Daris al-Khawlani from Wathilah ibn al-As'iq from Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Sunan an-Nasa'i 760Sahih (Darussalam)
The Shaykh : This is also part of what has preceded regarding the prohibition of sitting on a grave, to the extent that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If a man were to sit on a burning coal and it tore his clothes and reached his skin, that would be better for him than sitting on a grave. As for the hadith of Abu Marthad, it contains evidence that it is not permissible to pray facing a grave. It is not permissible to pray facing a grave, meaning: to place the grave between you and the qiblah, whether in a cemetery or not. Even if you find a grave outside a cemetery, it is not permissible for you to pray facing it. If one does this, is the prayer invalid? The answer is: Yes, the prayer is invalid, because this is a prayer that is prohibited in itself. Do not pray facing graves. If a person stands and prays, it is said that he has done what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited, so his action is a sin. And a sin cannot coexist with obedience, for it is not possible for something to be commanded and prohibited at the same time.
If someone asks: Is prayer in a cemetery permissible? We say: No, prayer in a cemetery is not permissible, even if the graves are behind your back, because one has been prohibited from praying in cemeteries. Indeed, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2877Sahih (Darussalam) They said that its meaning is: Do not pray in them. So the meaning is: Do not leave prayer in your homes, as it is left in cemeteries. Accordingly, we say: Prayer in a cemetery is forbidden and invalid, even if the cemetery is very wide and you pray, for example, at the gate, and the graves are far from you. This is one point. Second: Praying facing a grave is not permissible. All of this is to protect the aspect of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) from shirk (associating partners with Allah), because hearts often become attached to the dead. If they become accustomed to praying near them, for example in a cemetery or facing them, Satan may lead them astray until they end up worshipping that grave.
Do not pray toward graves and do not sit on them.
لا تصلوا إلى القبور ولا تجلسوا عليهاThe Shaykh : This is also part of what has preceded regarding the prohibition of sitting on a grave, to the extent that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If a man were to sit on a burning coal and it tore his clothes and reached his skin, that would be better for him than sitting on a grave. As for the hadith of Abu Marthad, it contains evidence that it is not permissible to pray facing a grave. It is not permissible to pray facing a grave, meaning: to place the grave between you and the qiblah, whether in a cemetery or not. Even if you find a grave outside a cemetery, it is not permissible for you to pray facing it. If one does this, is the prayer invalid? The answer is: Yes, the prayer is invalid, because this is a prayer that is prohibited in itself. Do not pray facing graves. If a person stands and prays, it is said that he has done what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited, so his action is a sin. And a sin cannot coexist with obedience, for it is not possible for something to be commanded and prohibited at the same time.
If someone asks: Is prayer in a cemetery permissible? We say: No, prayer in a cemetery is not permissible, even if the graves are behind your back, because one has been prohibited from praying in cemeteries. Indeed, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):