The Obligation to Respect Graveyards and Not to Desecrate Them

Question:
Our brother asks another question and says: Roads have been cut through our country in the high mountains, and it was the custom of our ancestors to place graveyards next to the villages. Today, some people have turned these graveyards into parking lots for cars, and they have bulldozed the graves with tractors until nothing remains to indicate that this is a graveyard. Please guide us and guide the people. May Allah reward you with good?

Answer:
It is obligatory to respect the graves of Muslims, and it is not permissible to crush them with cars, nor to desecrate them by driving over them, placing garbage on them, or doing the like.
It is obligatory to prevent these people, and the state and the responsible officials must pay attention to this, and prevent people from belittling the dead and harming the dead. It is possible to fence the graveyard with a wall to prevent this.
Therefore, it is obligatory for anyone who encounters such a thing to report the matter to the responsible officials in the country, such as the prince, the ruler, or the judge, so that they may do what is required, if Allah wills.
So it is upon you, O questioner, and upon your brothers as well, to report the matter if you find something in some of the graveyards. Report the matter to the responsible officials in the country so that they may prevent this thing that harms the dead, desecrates them, and causes them pain. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.

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