The Ruling on the Dome over the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Grave

Question:
As for the listener (A. K.) from Madinah al-Munawwarah, he says, after asking for a long life for the honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz, and that this life be filled with obedience to Allah and benefit for the Muslims in general, he says:
We have learned from the words of His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Baz that building and domes over graves are not permissible. So what is the ruling on the green dome over the grave of the noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah al-Munawwarah?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
There is no doubt that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade building over graves, and he cursed the Jews and the Christians for taking the graves of their prophets as mosques. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): And he said (peace and blessings be upon him), as Muslim reported in his Sahih from Jabir, “that he forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them.” And in a narration by al-Tirmidhi and others: .
So building over graves and taking them as mosques are among the forbidden things from which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned. The people of knowledge received what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding this with acceptance. The people of knowledge forbade building over graves and taking them as mosques in implementation of the pure Sunnah and acting upon it. And yet, building over graves, taking them as mosques, and placing domes over them has been found in many countries and lands. All of this is contrary to what the Sunnah brought from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is among the greatest means for the occurrence of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and exaggeration regarding the people of the graves.
Therefore, it is not befitting for a person of intellect, nor for any Muslim, to be deceived by these people or to imitate them in what they have done. This is because the actions of people are judged by the Book and the Sunnah. Whatever agrees with the Book and the Sunnah, or with one of them, is accepted; otherwise, it is rejected from the one who introduced it, as Allah the Exalted said:[Surah al-Shura: 10] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:: [Surah al-Nisa: 59] the verse.
As for what concerns the green dome over the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), this is something that some of the princes in Madinah introduced in the later centuries, in the ninth century and around it. There is no doubt that it was an error on their part and ignorance on their part. This was not in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor in the time of his Companions, nor in the time of the blessed centuries. Rather, it occurred in the later centuries in which ignorance increased, knowledge decreased, and innovations multiplied. So one should not be deceived by it, nor should one imitate it.
Perhaps the kings and Muslim princes who took charge of Madinah left it alone out of fear of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) from some of the common people. So they left it and turned away from it to cut off the cause of fitnah. For some people do not have insight. They might say, “They changed things and did such and such to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),” and this and that, thereby stirring up fitnah that there is no need to stir up, and whose stirring up may cause harm.
So the most apparent view—and Allah knows best—is that it was left for this reason, out of fear of the spread of fitnah that some ignorant people would stir up, and that they would accuse the one who removed the dome of belittling the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or that he does not recognize his sanctity (peace and blessings be upon him). This is what the worshippers of graves and the people of exaggeration claim when they see someone who calls to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and warns against shirk and innovations. They accuse him of all kinds of defects and charge him with hating the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or hating the awliya (close friends of Allah), or not recognizing his sanctity (peace and blessings be upon him), or similar false and invalid sayings.
Otherwise, there is no doubt that the one who did it has erred, committed a religious innovation, and contradicted what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in warning against building over graves and making mosques on them. As for the first building, it was the house of Aisha, where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was buried.in the house of Aisha, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)and those most beloved to them feared that burying him in al-Baqi' would lead to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), so they placed him in the house of Aisha. Then they buried with him his two companions, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). He was not in the mosque, but in the house of Aisha. Then, when the mosque was expanded during the reign of al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik in the last part of the first century, the chamber was included in the expansion. Some ignorant people thought that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was buried in the mosque, but that is not the case. Rather, he (peace and blessings be upon him) was buried in the house of Aisha, outside the mosque, and was not buried in the mosque.
So no one has an argument in that to be buried in mosques. Rather, it is obligatory that mosques be free of graves, and it is obligatory that no mosque be built over a grave. This is because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against it. He said: Reported by the two Shaykhs, al-Bukhari and Muslim, in the two Sahihs. And Muslim reported in his Sahih—may Allah have mercy on him—from Jundub ibn 'Abdullah al-Bajali from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he heard him say, five days before he died: So he condemned those who take mosques as graves and forbade it in two forms: the first is his saying: and the second is his saying: This is an exaggeration in the prohibition and warning from him (peace and blessings be upon him) from three aspects:
The first aspect: Condemning those who take the graves of the prophets and the righteous before us as mosques.
The second: That he forbade it with the form: .
The third: That he forbade it with the form: This is an exaggeration in the warning. And it was mentioned earlier in the hadith of Aisha that he forbade it with a curse, saying: This makes it clear to us, and to every Muslim, and to every person of understanding, that building over graves, placing domes over them, and mosques is contrary to the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) that his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, and that it is a munkar (what is wrong) and an innovation in the religion, and that it is among the means of shirk.
For this reason, when the common people and the ignorant saw these exalted graves, mosques, domes, and other things, and the carpets, they thought that they would benefit them, and that they would answer their supplications, and that they would bring back their lost things, and heal their sick. So they called upon them and sought aid from them, and made vows to them, and they fell into shirk because of that.
Therefore, it is obligatory for the people of knowledge and faith, wherever they are, to warn people against these evils and to make it clear to them that building over graves is a blameworthy religious innovation. Likewise, making domes and mosques over them is a blameworthy religious innovation, and that these are means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), so that the general public may be wary of them, and so that both the specialized and the general public may know that these things occurred after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and after his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)and after the blessed centuries, so that they may be wary of them and stay away from them.
The legislated visitation of graves is to visit them to greet them, make du'a' (supplication) for them, and seek mercy for them, not to call upon them or ask them to fulfill needs and relieve distress, for this is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and it is not permissible except with Allah (Mighty and Majestic)..
But the ignorant and the polytheists replaced the legislated visiting with the reprehensible, shirk-based visiting out of ignorance and misguidance. And among the causes of this replacement, and among the causes of this shirk and innovations, is the existence of these buildings, domes, and mosques over the graves. And among the causes of that is the silence of many scholars regarding it, either out of ignorance of the Shari'ah ruling in that matter by some of them, or out of despair of the common people accepting it and the lack of benefit from speaking with them, due to what they saw of their inclination toward them and their rebuking of those who rebuked them, or for other reasons.
So it is obligatory upon the people of knowledge, wherever they are, to clarify to people what Allah has forbidden for them, and to make it clear to them what Allah has made obligatory for them, and to warn them from shirk and its causes and means. For the common people are under their responsibility, and Allah has made it obligatory upon them to convey and clarify, and He has forbidden them to conceal. Yes.