Refuting the Doubt Regarding the Dome Built over the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Grave
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Question:
Our brother also asks and says: I know that building domes over graves is not permissible, but some people say that it is permissible, and their evidence is the dome of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They say that Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab removed all the domes but did not remove that dome—namely, the dome of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So, since people do not seem to be in doubt, it should have been removed. How do we respond to these people? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
There is no doubt that domes over graves are a religious innovation (bid'ah) and an abomination, just as mosques over graves are all a religious innovation (bid'ah) and all an abomination. This is based on what is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sahih Muslim 529, and what is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Mishkat al-Masabih 713, narrated by Muslim in the Sahih.
Also, it is established from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Sahih Muslim, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he prohibited plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them. So, he (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly prohibited building over graves, plastering them, or sitting on them. There is no doubt that placing a dome over a grave is a type of building, and likewise, building a mosque over it is a type of building, and likewise, placing roofs and walls over it is a type of building.
It is obligatory that the grave remain exposed on the ground, just as the graves were in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in al-Baqi' and elsewhere, exposed. The grave is raised from the ground by approximately a shibr so that it is known to be a grave and not desecrated. As for building a dome, a room, a shelter, or anything else on it, this is not permissible. Rather, it is obligatory that the graves remain in their state, exposed, and nothing is added to them except their earth. The grave is raised from the earth that was dug from it, raised by a shibr, and that is sufficient, as came in the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that he said (may Allah be pleased with him) : "Dig for me a shallow grave and place bricks on me upright, as was done for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," and in the narration it was said: "And his grave was raised from the ground by a shibr," meaning the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
So, the conclusion is that graves are raised by a hand's breadth and what is appropriate around them so that it is known that they are graves and so that they are not desecrated, trampled, or sat upon. As for building over them, no, not a dome or anything else, due to the previous hadiths: the hadith of Jabir, the hadith of 'Aishah, and others. In the hadith of Jabir, there is an explicit prohibition of building over graves and plastering them.
As for the dome of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), this is an innovation introduced by some of the Turkish princes in one of the later centuries, in the ninth or eighth century, and people left it in place for many reasons:
Among them is the ignorance of many of those who hold the governorship of Medina. And among them is the fear of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation); because some people fear fitnah if it is removed, perhaps the people would rise up against them and say: "This person hates the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," and so on. And this is the secret behind the Saudi state's preservation of this dome; because if they had removed it, perhaps the ignorant people—and most people are ignorant—would say: "These people only removed it because of their hatred of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." They do not say it is because it is a religious innovation (bid'ah), no, they say: "Because of their hatred of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." This is what the ignorant and those like them say.
So, the first Saudi government and the current one up to this time have left this innovated dome in place out of fear of fitnah and that people would think ill of them. And there is no doubt that, praise be to Allah, they believe in the prohibition of building over graves and the prohibition of placing domes over graves. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was buried in the house of 'Aishah so that fitnah would not occur regarding him, so that he would not be exaggerated about. Rather, the Companions buried him in the house of 'Aishah out of fear of fitnah. The walls have been standing for a long time, and they buried him in the house to protect him (peace and blessings be upon him) from fitnah, so that the ignorant would not cause fitnah regarding him.
And as for this dome, it was placed later due to the ignorance of some princes. If it were removed, there would be no harm in that; rather, this is the right thing. But some of the ignorant may not tolerate this, and they may accuse the one who removes it of not being on the right path and of hating the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For this reason, the Saudi state left this dome as it is; because it is the work of others, and they do not like the disturbance and fitnah that some people may lead, from those who worship graves and those who exaggerate regarding the dead, from the polytheists, who accuse them of what they are innocent of, namely hatred of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or harshness toward him.
The Saudi scholars, among them Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) and other scholars, are all, praise be to Allah, upon the Sunnah and upon the path of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and their followers with excellence, in the oneness of Allah (tawhid) and sincerity to Him, and warning against shirk (associating partners with Allah) and religious innovations (bid'ah), and the means of shirk. They are the most people in exalting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, like the righteous Salaf. They are among the most people in exalting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) , and they are the most pleased in walking and proceeding upon the path of the righteous Salaf in loving him (peace and blessings be upon him) and exalting his status with the Shari'ah exaltation that contains no exaggeration or religious innovation (bid'ah), but rather an exaltation that necessitates following his Shari'ah, exalting his command and prohibition, defending his Sunnah, calling people to follow him, and warning them against shirk with Him or with others, and warning them against the abominable religious innovations (bid'ah) that have multiplied among people from many eras. And among that is the religious innovation (bid'ah) of this dome that was placed over the Prophet's grave. It was left only out of fear of slander and fitnah. And Allah is the guarantor of success, and there is no power or strength except with Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Our brother also asks and says: I know that building domes over graves is not permissible, but some people say that it is permissible, and their evidence is the dome of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They say that Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab removed all the domes but did not remove that dome—namely, the dome of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So, since people do not seem to be in doubt, it should have been removed. How do we respond to these people? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
There is no doubt that domes over graves are a religious innovation (bid'ah) and an abomination, just as mosques over graves are all a religious innovation (bid'ah) and all an abomination. This is based on what is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians that they took the graves of their prophets as mosques
لعن الله اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجدThose who preceded you used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as mosques, but you must not take graves as mosques; I forbid you to do that.
ألا وإن من كان قبلكم كانوا يتخذون قبور أنبيائهم مساجد ألا فلا تتخذوا القبور مساجد فإني أنهاكم عن ذلكAlso, it is established from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Sahih Muslim, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he prohibited plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them. So, he (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly prohibited building over graves, plastering them, or sitting on them. There is no doubt that placing a dome over a grave is a type of building, and likewise, building a mosque over it is a type of building, and likewise, placing roofs and walls over it is a type of building.
It is obligatory that the grave remain exposed on the ground, just as the graves were in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in al-Baqi' and elsewhere, exposed. The grave is raised from the ground by approximately a shibr so that it is known to be a grave and not desecrated. As for building a dome, a room, a shelter, or anything else on it, this is not permissible. Rather, it is obligatory that the graves remain in their state, exposed, and nothing is added to them except their earth. The grave is raised from the earth that was dug from it, raised by a shibr, and that is sufficient, as came in the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that he said (may Allah be pleased with him) : "Dig for me a shallow grave and place bricks on me upright, as was done for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," and in the narration it was said: "And his grave was raised from the ground by a shibr," meaning the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
So, the conclusion is that graves are raised by a hand's breadth and what is appropriate around them so that it is known that they are graves and so that they are not desecrated, trampled, or sat upon. As for building over them, no, not a dome or anything else, due to the previous hadiths: the hadith of Jabir, the hadith of 'Aishah, and others. In the hadith of Jabir, there is an explicit prohibition of building over graves and plastering them.
As for the dome of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), this is an innovation introduced by some of the Turkish princes in one of the later centuries, in the ninth or eighth century, and people left it in place for many reasons:
Among them is the ignorance of many of those who hold the governorship of Medina. And among them is the fear of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation); because some people fear fitnah if it is removed, perhaps the people would rise up against them and say: "This person hates the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," and so on. And this is the secret behind the Saudi state's preservation of this dome; because if they had removed it, perhaps the ignorant people—and most people are ignorant—would say: "These people only removed it because of their hatred of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." They do not say it is because it is a religious innovation (bid'ah), no, they say: "Because of their hatred of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." This is what the ignorant and those like them say.
So, the first Saudi government and the current one up to this time have left this innovated dome in place out of fear of fitnah and that people would think ill of them. And there is no doubt that, praise be to Allah, they believe in the prohibition of building over graves and the prohibition of placing domes over graves. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was buried in the house of 'Aishah so that fitnah would not occur regarding him, so that he would not be exaggerated about. Rather, the Companions buried him in the house of 'Aishah out of fear of fitnah. The walls have been standing for a long time, and they buried him in the house to protect him (peace and blessings be upon him) from fitnah, so that the ignorant would not cause fitnah regarding him.
And as for this dome, it was placed later due to the ignorance of some princes. If it were removed, there would be no harm in that; rather, this is the right thing. But some of the ignorant may not tolerate this, and they may accuse the one who removes it of not being on the right path and of hating the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For this reason, the Saudi state left this dome as it is; because it is the work of others, and they do not like the disturbance and fitnah that some people may lead, from those who worship graves and those who exaggerate regarding the dead, from the polytheists, who accuse them of what they are innocent of, namely hatred of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or harshness toward him.
The Saudi scholars, among them Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) and other scholars, are all, praise be to Allah, upon the Sunnah and upon the path of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and their followers with excellence, in the oneness of Allah (tawhid) and sincerity to Him, and warning against shirk (associating partners with Allah) and religious innovations (bid'ah), and the means of shirk. They are the most people in exalting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, like the righteous Salaf. They are among the most people in exalting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) , and they are the most pleased in walking and proceeding upon the path of the righteous Salaf in loving him (peace and blessings be upon him) and exalting his status with the Shari'ah exaltation that contains no exaggeration or religious innovation (bid'ah), but rather an exaltation that necessitates following his Shari'ah, exalting his command and prohibition, defending his Sunnah, calling people to follow him, and warning them against shirk with Him or with others, and warning them against the abominable religious innovations (bid'ah) that have multiplied among people from many eras. And among that is the religious innovation (bid'ah) of this dome that was placed over the Prophet's grave. It was left only out of fear of slander and fitnah. And Allah is the guarantor of success, and there is no power or strength except with Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.