A mosque contains a grave and it is the only one in the town; is it permissible to pray in it?
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Question:
If the mosque that contains a grave is the only one in the town, does the Muslim pray in it?
Answer:
A Muslim must never pray in it. He has to pray in another place or in his home if he cannot find a mosque that is free of graves. It is obligatory for the authorities to dig up the grave in the mosque if it was added later, and to move the remains to the public cemetery, placing them in a specific pit whose surface is leveled like the other graves. If the grave was the first one there, the mosque must be demolished. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the Jews and Christians who took the graves of their prophets as mosques. When Umm Salimah and Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with them both) informed him that they had seen a church in Abyssinia and the images in it, he said to them (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 434 It is agreed upon that it is authentic.
Whoever prays in mosques that contain graves, his prayer is invalid, and he has to repeat it, based on the two hadiths mentioned and what came with their meaning.
If the mosque that contains a grave is the only one in the town, does the Muslim pray in it?
Answer:
A Muslim must never pray in it. He has to pray in another place or in his home if he cannot find a mosque that is free of graves. It is obligatory for the authorities to dig up the grave in the mosque if it was added later, and to move the remains to the public cemetery, placing them in a specific pit whose surface is leveled like the other graves. If the grave was the first one there, the mosque must be demolished. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the Jews and Christians who took the graves of their prophets as mosques. When Umm Salimah and Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with them both) informed him that they had seen a church in Abyssinia and the images in it, he said to them (peace and blessings be upon him):
If any righteous pious man dies amongst them, they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it; they are the worst creatures in the sight of Allah.
أولئك إذا مات فيهم الرجل الصالح بنوا على قبره مسجدًا وصوروا فيه تلك الصور أولئك شرار الخلق عند اللهWhoever prays in mosques that contain graves, his prayer is invalid, and he has to repeat it, based on the two hadiths mentioned and what came with their meaning.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.