Is it permissible to build over a grave, such as a house?

Question:
The listener, Hussein ibn Maymuni Taji from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, sent a message to the program, and among his questions, he asked: Is it permissible to build over a grave, such as a house? He likely means the grave, O Shaykh. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
Building over graves is not permissible at all; rather, it is one of the causes of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and one of the means leading to shirk. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith: It is also established in the authentic hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them."
Therefore, it is not permissible to build over a grave, whether a dome, a room, a mosque, or anything else. It is not permissible to sit on it, plaster it, or place curtains and perfumes on it. All of this is reprehensible and is among the means of shirk. It is obligatory to be cautious of this, and it is obligatory for Muslims everywhere to beware of this evil practice that has spread in many countries and states.
Therefore, it is obligatory to demolish the mosques that are built over graves if they were constructed on top of them, and the domes over graves must be demolished and removed. This is the obligation of Islamic states to remove them, so that the graves remain exposed with nothing on them.
However, if the grave is new and the person was buried in the mosque, and the mosque existed before the burial and is old, then the grave must be exhumed and moved to the cemetery to be placed with the other graves, and it must not remain in the mosque. Rather, it is obligatory to exhume it and transfer the remains to the public cemeteries, so that the mosque remains intact and prayers are performed in it.
However, if the grave is the old one and the mosque was built over it, then the mosque must be demolished and it is not permissible for it to remain. It is obligatory for the heads of Islamic states and the responsible officials to perform this duty and to prevent people from shirk and its means. For calling upon the dead and seeking aid from the dead is major shirk.
Building mosques over graves is a bid'ah (religious innovation) and one of the causes of shirk. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith narrated by Muslim in his Sahih from Jundub ibn Abdullah al-Bajali, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When Umm Salama and Umm Habiba (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to him: "We saw images in some of the churches in the land of Abyssinia," he said regarding the Christians: Then he said: Thus, he informed them that they are the worst of creation because of their deeds, which are building over graves and making images on them.
Therefore, it is obligatory for Islamic governments and all scholars to strive to remove these structures over graves: mosques, domes, and others, and for the graves to be prominent and exposed, with no building on them. There is no harm in raising the grave by the height of a hand-span, raising its soil so that it is known to be a grave, so that it has a boundary, so that it has a limit, and the remaining soil is gathered over the grave so that there is a sign above it indicating that it is a grave, with markers on it, and it is about a hand-span in height or similar, so that it is known to be a grave.
As for building, nothing is built over it, neither a mosque nor anything else, nor a dome nor anything else. It is not permissible to call upon the owner of the grave, saying: "O my master," or "O so-and-so," "O Abu Abdullah," or "O Muhammad," or "O so-and-so! Forgive me," or "Help me," or "Heal my sick one," or "I am under your protection." Nor is it said: "O Messenger of Allah," or "O Abu Bakr," or "O my master al-Badawi," or "O my master al-Husayn," or "O my master Abdul Qadir," or any of the others. All of this is not permissible; rather, it is major shirk. Calling upon the dead and seeking aid from the dead is major shirk.
Therefore, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is not called upon, nor any of the Companions, nor any of the scholars. Rather, this is major shirk according to all scholars of the people of the Sunnah and the community. The people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) used to venerate graves and call upon them instead of Allah, and seek aid from their inhabitants. Allah forbade that and made it haram (forbidden) for Muslims. He said : [Al-Jinn: 18] And He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Mu'minun: 117] And He said : If you call them, they will not hear your call, and even if they did hear, they would not respond to you, and on the Day of Resurrection they will disavow your shirk [Fatir: 13-14], and He called it shirk .
Therefore, calling upon the dead, asking them for intercession, or victory over enemies, or healing the sick, or making vows to them, or slaughtering for them, all of this is major shirk and worship of other than Allah. Allah, Exalted is He, says: [Al-Isra: 23]... [Al-Bayyinah: 5] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Calling upon the dead is worship and shirk with Allah . We ask Allah for safety and well-being, and we ask Allah to rectify the conditions of the Muslims, and to grant them understanding in the religion, and to rectify their rulers, so that they remove what has occurred of shirk, its means, and its tools. Yes.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.