The Ruling on Building or Writing on Graves
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: I have noticed that in our area, some graves have been plastered with cement, measuring about one meter in length and half a meter in width, with the name of the deceased, the date of his death, and some phrases written on them (such as “O Allah, have mercy on so-and-so, son of so-and-so…”), and so on. What is the ruling on such an action?
Answer:
It is not permissible to build on graves, whether with plaster or otherwise, and it is not permissible to write on them. This is based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the prohibition of building on them and writing on them. Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited plastering a grave, sitting on it, or building on it. Al-Tirmidhi and others narrated it with a sound chain, adding that he prohibited writing on it. This is also because it is a type of exaggeration (ghuluw), and therefore it must be prohibited.
Furthermore, writing on graves may lead to severe consequences involving exaggeration and other things prohibited by the Shari'ah. The soil of the grave should be placed over it and raised by approximately a hand's breadth so that it is known to be a grave. This is the Sunnah regarding graves, which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) followed. It is not permissible to build mosques on graves, cover them, or place domes on them, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 529 It is agreed upon that it is authentic.
And because Muslim narrated in his Sahih from Jundub ibn 'Abd Allah al-Bajali that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), five days before he died, saying: ISahih Muslim 532 There are many hadiths in this meaning.
We ask Allah to guide the Muslims to adhere to the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), to remain steadfast upon it, and to beware of what contradicts it. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near One. And may peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Answer:
It is not permissible to build on graves, whether with plaster or otherwise, and it is not permissible to write on them. This is based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the prohibition of building on them and writing on them. Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited plastering a grave, sitting on it, or building on it. Al-Tirmidhi and others narrated it with a sound chain, adding that he prohibited writing on it. This is also because it is a type of exaggeration (ghuluw), and therefore it must be prohibited.
Furthermore, writing on graves may lead to severe consequences involving exaggeration and other things prohibited by the Shari'ah. The soil of the grave should be placed over it and raised by approximately a hand's breadth so that it is known to be a grave. This is the Sunnah regarding graves, which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) followed. It is not permissible to build mosques on graves, cover them, or place domes on them, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians that they took the graves of their prophets as mosques
لعن الله اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجدAnd because Muslim narrated in his Sahih from Jundub ibn 'Abd Allah al-Bajali that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), five days before he died, saying: I
for Allah has taken me as His friend, as he took Ibrahim as His friend. Had I taken any one of my Ummah as a friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a friend. Beware of those who preceded you and used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as places of worship, but you must not take graves as mosques; I forbid you to do that.
ن الله قد اتخذني خليلا كما اتخذ إبراهيم خليلا ولو كنت متخذا من أمتي خليلا لاتخذت أبا بكر خليلا ألا وإن من كان قبلكم كانوا يتخذون قبور أنبيائهم وصالحيهم مساجد ألا فلا تتخذوا القبور مساجد فإني أنهاكم عن ذلكWe ask Allah to guide the Muslims to adhere to the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), to remain steadfast upon it, and to beware of what contradicts it. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near One. And may peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.