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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Ruling on spending money to build domes over graves and decorate them

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Our brother asks a long question, and I hope the remaining time in this session will be sufficient for it. He says: Some people place a significant amount of money on graves, which they call the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah). This money is then collected and spent on repairing the domes, decorating them, installing lights on them, and using loudspeakers on those domes to spread the propaganda of that wali (close friend of Allah). They also sometimes perform the obligatory prayer inside the cemeteries around that wali (close friend of Allah). What is the ruling in Islam regarding such actions? May Allah reward you.
Answer: First: Approaching graves with money, food, or bread is an abomination and constitutes major shirk (associating partners with Allah); because it is an approach to them and worship of them. Charities are offered to them, hoping for their favor, reward, and blessing, just as if one slaughtered animals for them, or prayed for them; because one only approaches them with this because one believes they are suitable for this matter, and that one approaches them with charities, sacrifices, or otherwise so that they may benefit him, intercede for him, cure his sick, give him a child, and so on.
Second: Building domes over graves is also an abomination. It is not permissible to build over them in any way; rather, it is obligatory that they remain uncovered, with no building over them, based on 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 mosquesلعن الله اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد
Sahih Muslim 529
And what is established in the authentic collections from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over themنهى رسول الله ﷺ عن تجصيص القبور وعن القعود عليها، وعن البناء عليها
So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited building over them and prohibited writing on them. Therefore, it is obligatory not to write on them and not to build over them, whether a dome or anything else.
Third: Praying at graves is not permissible. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed those who took them as mosques, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
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.ألا وإن من كان قبلكم كانوا يتخذون قبور أنبيائهم وصالحيهم مساجد، ألا فلا تتخذوا القبور مساجد فإني أنهاكم عن ذلك
Sahih Muslim 532
Narrated by Muslim in the authentic collection. So he prohibited them from taking them as mosques. Whoever prays at a grave has taken it as a mosque, even if no dome is built over it, and even if no mosque is built over it. As long as one prays at the graves or between the graves, he is thereby taking them as a mosque; because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
the earth has been made for me a place of worship and a means of purification.جعلت لي الأرض مسجداً وطهوراً
Sunan Ibn Majah 567Sahih (Darussalam)
So whoever prays in a place he has taken as a mosque; for this reason, one does not pray in an impure place, and one does not pray between graves. If one prays at the graves, toward a grave, or at the edge of the cemetery, all of this is taking them as a mosque. Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious of that.
Source binbaz.org.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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