Completing the previous question: Is it obligatory for us to know the graves of our brothers, or do we make du'a for Muslims in general without marking the grave to identify it?

The questioner : Is it obligatory for us to know the grave of every one of our brothers, or do we make du'a for Muslims in general and take a lesson from the dead in general, for example?

Another questioner : You have done well.

The Shaykh : This point is valid, because not everyone will have this concern to mark his brother's grave, as he has no benefit in doing so.

The questioner : He can...

The Shaykh : This statement, my brother, is often said, but it is theoretical, not practical. For example, I will give you an example that may be more important than this. We say that it is not permissible to allow the two sexes to mix in order to acquire knowledge. This knowledge, at its best, is a collective obligation (fard kifayah) in the Shari'ah. We do not permit, for example, this mixing in order for the young Muslim woman to study medicine, with the goal of treating women. We need such a female doctor to treat our women, but the path to obtaining such a doctor is full of obstacles and violations of the Shari'ah, all of which are gathered in mixing. So we say we do not permit this mixing because, as we said, this knowledge is a collective obligation, and if some people fulfill it, it is lifted from the rest. What do some people say? "My brother, if we say this, the knowledge of women's medicine will remain exclusive to disbelievers." The doubt is resolved, so we must contribute with them and permit young Muslim women to study medicine, even with mixing with men.

The questioner : Even by traveling.

The Shaykh : Yes, traveling, and it may be, as I imagine, that the same doctor connects with the same midwife during chemical testing and the like. The point is, we tell them, "My brother, you do not imagine that all Muslim women will adhere to this Shari'ah ruling, be scrupulous, and not study medicine. Then the problem raised by that objector arises, which is that medicine will be restricted to disbelievers." We say, "No," because the reality—we hope that all Muslims and all Muslim women will respond to the ruling of Allah and His Messenger—but the reality is not so. Therefore, a generation of non-adherent Muslim female doctors will inevitably arise. For example, many of the guides or counselors, as they are called today, issue rulings without any hesitation: "It is permissible, my brother, for women to enter universities, even if they are mixed, in order to acquire knowledge." There are also people like me, and praise be to Allah, many who say, "No, this is not permissible for the reason I mentioned earlier." Now, I imagine that all Muslim women will listen to our opinion, but the reality is that many of them do not adopt this opinion and consider it strictness, and so on. So, in terms of reality, there will be a group of Muslim women. I do not say they are open sinners, nor do I say they are non-adherent, but I will say something mild: they have adopted an opinion different from ours. So they entered the university and studied medicine, and praise be to Allah, if Allah wills, they were not touched by evil. Then it is the turn of our living, veiled women, and so on, to study medicine from the first grade, which is the one who took the risk of studying this knowledge. I think this statement is clear.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : The point of this, in brief, is that not everyone will be equal in achieving the benefit or achieving the Shari'ah ruling or avoiding it; they are not equal. So when you imagine a cemetery with thousands of graves, as I said, do not imagine, my brother, that everyone will place similar stones, because the reality is that they placed markers before hearing this fatwa, with the name of the deceased, the date of his death, and perhaps the accident in which he died, and the recitation of al-Fatihah, and so on. Why were these markers placed? They are the same goal we are discussing. So when a Muslim man who adheres to the Sunnah places a stone, that stone will actually distinguish his grave from those graves, because those graves are contrary to the Sunnah.

The questioner : Good, that is fine.

The Shaykh : You are now imagining a cemetery according to the Sunnah.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And this imagination completely contradicts reality.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Allow me.

The questioner: Go ahead.

The Shaykh : You imagined it as a cemetery of all mounds of dirt, every grave a mound of dirt, and that is the direction of the previous question, and you heard the answer. But now, study the reality. Is the reality that these graves are mostly according to the Sunnah, or are they contrary to the Sunnah?

The questioner : Mostly, they are contrary to the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : It is enough for you to have a sign that your relative's grave is according to the Sunnah.

The questioner : Good.

The Shaykh : And the problem is solved?

The questioner : No, from the Shari'ah perspective, we want to assume that we want all the graves to be according to the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : That is an illusion.

The questioner : An illusion, okay.

The Shaykh : Deal with the reality.

The questioner : Okay, fine.

The Shaykh : Deal with the reality.

The questioner : I, Shaykh, brought a piece of wood.

The questioner : We move on to...

The Shaykh: Listen, listen.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

Another questioner : My father's grave. I brought a square piece of wood painted green that was with me in the car. I painted it. It has been two years now. Everyone who goes to the cemetery stops at the wood and knows that this is my grandfather's grave.

Another questioner : Why green, I mean?

The questioner : It is like that.

Another questioner : So that tomorrow I can go and remove it.

Another questioner : We move on to another question. May Allah reward you with good.

The questioner: Our Shaykh.