Is it permissible to pray in a mosque that contains a grave?

Question:
Our brother Sa'd Hamid Sarhan, a student of preparatory Islamic studies in Iraq, in Ninawa, Mosul, is also asking and says: Is it permissible to pray in the mosque that contains a grave? Please issue a ruling for us, may Allah reward you.

Answer:
Prayer in mosques that contain graves is not valid. Any mosque that contains a grave, whether it is a congregational mosque or not, and even if Friday prayer is not held in it, prayer is not performed in mosques that contain graves, and the prayer in them is not valid. This is because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: narrated by Muslim in his Sahih.
It is authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that Umm Habib, the daughter of Abu Sufyan, the mother of the believers, and Umm Salama, also the mother of the believers, mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a church they had seen in the land of Abyssinia and the images in it. He said: So by this action, they became among the worst of creation in the sight of Allah, namely by building mosques over graves and making images in them.
It is obligatory for the people of Islam to beware of that, and not to build over graves, and not to make them into mosques, and not to place a structure or dome over them. Rather, they should be open and exposed, with no structure whatsoever over them. This is what is prescribed, and this is what is obligatory. As for building over them, or placing domes over them, or making them into mosques, all of this is reprehensible. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "He warned against what they did." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them from making mosques over graves and cursed whoever did that. This indicates that this is among the major sins, among the major of sins. And the prohibition necessitates the invalidity of the prohibited thing, namely the invalidity of prayer at graves and in mosques built over them. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in the hadith of Jabir in Muslim's Sahih, he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them." So he forbade this and that: plastering graves, building over them, and sitting on them.
It is obligatory for the people of Islam to beware of what Allah has forbidden and what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden. They have no right to pray in mosques that have been made over graves, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that and cursed whoever did it (peace and blessings be upon him). And prayer at a grave is making it a mosque, even if a mosque is not built, because praying at the graves means that one has made them a mosque.
There is no doubt that prayer at them, and supplication at them, specifically seeking supplication at them, specifically seeking recitation at them, all of this is among the causes and means of shirk (associating partners with Allah). So it is obligatory to beware of that. They are only visited; the Muslim visits them and supplicates for the deceased and for himself with them, saying: and similar to this supplication, he supplicates for them and for himself with them: "May Allah forgive us and you. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you." Then he departs. He does not sit at them for recitation or supplication at them, and he does not circumambulate them. This is reprehensible. And circumambulating graves with the intention of drawing near to the deceased is major shirk, like supplication. As if he says: "O my master! Help me! Help, help, support me, heal me." This is major shirk.
So it is obligatory to beware. In many Islamic countries, there are graves over which mosques have been built. So it is obligatory to beware of that, and it is obligatory for the rulers to remove that, and for the graves to remain open and exposed, with no buildings over them, as was the case in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in al-Baqi' and in the rest of the Muslim cemeteries in the Islamic lands. This building only occurred after that, in the second century and after, because of the Rafidah (Twelver Shi'ah) and the extremists who exaggerated and imitated the Rafidah in that, until what happened of making mosques over graves and making domes, and until shirk with the dead occurred, asking them, seeking aid from them, and making vows to them because of this exaggeration. We ask Allah for well-being, safety, and guidance for everyone.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.