Mosques are built for the purpose of providing a place for worship, but building mosques over the graves of righteous people and saints has been forbidden in the Shariah. This practice can not only become a means of shirk, but it also amounts to imitating the disbelievers, and it opens the door to innovations. The following explains this through authentic hadiths:
Hadith 1: Sayyiduna Jundub bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said a few days before his death:
“Allah has absolved me of the matter that any of you would be my close friend (khalil). If I were to take a close friend from my Ummah, I would have taken Abu Bakr. Beware! The people before you used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous people as places of prostration. Beware! Do not take graves as places of prostration; I forbid you from it.”
Hadith 2: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The worst of people are those in whose lifetime the Hour is established, and those who take graves as places of prostration.”
Hadith 3: Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her)
It is narrated from her that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When a righteous man among the people before you died, they would build a mosque over his grave and place pictures there. These are the worst of creation in the sight of Allah.”
Shirk as a means and the veneration of righteous people
Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that people took the graves of righteous people as places of prostration, and this practice led many nations into shirk. The people prostrating near a grave or supplicating there with the intention of seeking blessing is in reality opposition to Allah and His Messenger. The Prophet ﷺ forbade building mosques on graves and praying there in order to end this practice, so that the possibilities of shirk could be eliminated at the root.
Jurisprudential position
Various schools of jurisprudence have also declared building mosques on graves to be prohibited, as the companions of Imam Ahmad, Imam Malik and Imam al-Shafi’i have explicitly stated its prohibition. Some scholars have regarded it as disliked (makruh), but it should be considered makruh tahrimi, because the Prophet ﷺ cursed those who do this.
Hadith 4: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him)
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “May Allah destroy the Jews, for they took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration.”
In Sahih Muslim, these additional words are also found: “May Allah curse the Jews and Christians, who took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration.”
Explanation by Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the Prophet ﷺ, in the final days of his life, strictly forbade taking graves as places of prostration, and cursed the People of the Book who did this, so that the Ummah of Muhammad would stay away from this practice.
Explanation by Allamah Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) says: How is it possible to consider it permissible to build domes over the graves of righteous people, when the Prophet ﷺ said that those who take the graves of righteous people as mosques are cursed? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ especially forbade his Ummah from making his own grave a place of prostration or a place of worship, even though he was the most virtuous of all.
Statement of Shaykh Abdur Rahman bin Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him)
Shaykh Abdur Rahman bin Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the saying of the Prophet ﷺ “Do not make graves into mosques” points to the fact that the worst people are those who pray near graves and build mosques there. This practice belongs to the Jews and Christians, for which the Prophet ﷺ cursed them. Regrettably, many people have fallen into the misunderstanding that worshipping near graves is a means of drawing closer to Allah, whereas this practice distances a person from the mercy of Allah.
Hadith 5: Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him)
Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the last advice of the Prophet ﷺ was: “Know well! Indeed, the worst people are those who took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration.”
Hafiz Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) has also declared the narrators of this to be trustworthy (thiqah).
Hadith 6: Sayyida Aisha and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)
Sayyida Aisha and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrate that during his final illness the Prophet ﷺ repeatedly placed his cloak over his face and removed it when distressed, and said: “May Allah remove from His mercy the Jews and Christians, who took the graves of their prophets as mosques.”
By saying this, the Prophet ﷺ forbade his Ummah from such an act.
Commentary on the Hadith: Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) states that the saying of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), “Had it not been feared that people would take the grave of the Prophet ﷺ as a place of prostration, his grave would have been made visible,” clarifies that the grave of the Prophet ﷺ was buried in the chamber of the Prophet’s Mosque so that people could not make it a place of prostration.
Blocking the Means: Imam Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Imam Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) explained, keeping in view the fear that the grave of the Prophet ﷺ might become a place of prostration, the precautionary measures taken by the Muslims, such as building walls around the grave so that no worshipper could pray facing the grave and could only turn towards the qibla while engaged in worship.
The Narration of Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)
It is attributed to Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “After the death of any prophet, he is buried where his soul was taken.”
However, this narration has been declared weak because its narrator Husayn ibn Abdullah is weak.
Shirk and Veneration of Graves
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) states that the Prophet ﷺ forbade making his grave a place of prostration in order to protect his ummah from the way of the Jews and Christians. Many people of the ummah, disregarding this prohibition, began to regard the veneration of graves as a means of nearness to Allah, whereas this practice is one of the causes of shirk.
The Statement of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him)
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the purpose of the Prophet’s ﷺ prohibition was to block every form of shirk, so that tawhid could be protected from shirk. Satan misled people by saying that venerating the graves of the righteous is a means of drawing close to them, whereas this was in fact the beginning of idol worship.
Hadith 7: Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him)
Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made the supplication: “O Allah! Do not make my grave an idol. May Allah’s curse be upon the people who made the graves of their prophets places of prostration.”
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The Trial of Satan: Ibn al-Qayyim’s Explanation (may Allah have mercy on him)
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that one of Satan’s great schemes is that he makes the grave of a pious person or a prophet a symbol of greatness before people, after which they begin to worship it. Satan convinces his friends that whoever prevents worship of this grave or prevents it from being made a place of prostration is in fact insulting it. Thus ignorant people become eager to punish such truthful individuals and declare them disbelievers, while their only crime is that they follow the commands of Allah and His Messenger.
Worship at Graves: The Root of Real Shirk
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) further explains that building mosques on graves, lighting lamps there, making vows there, kissing them, and seeking help from them are all major causes of shirk. All these practices oppose the fundamental principle of the religion of Islam, that is Tawhid, whose teachings the Prophet ﷺ spread.
The Trial of Making Graves Places of Prostration: Allamah Barkawi Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Barkawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Satan’s greatest trial is the worship of graves, as the Companions and the Tabi’un have stated. Satan presents the grave of a pious man to people as a symbol of greatness and then turns it into an idol. People regard the truthful individuals who stop such people as disrespectful and disbelievers, although these people are only saying what Allah and His Messenger have commanded.
Hadith 8: Sayyidna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him)
Sayyidna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not pray facing graves, and do not sit upon them.”
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Comparison of Visiting Graves with the Sunnah of the Prophet: Allamah Barkawi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Barkawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that whoever compares the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ regarding visiting graves, and the practice of the Companions and Tabi’un, with the deeds of people today, will find the two opposed to each other. The Prophet ﷺ forbade turning towards graves to pray, but today people do the opposite and pray close to graves. The Prophet ﷺ forbade building mosques on graves, but today people, in opposition to this command, build mosques on graves and call them shrines. The Prophet ﷺ forbade lighting lamps on graves, yet people light lamps and candles there. The Prophet ﷺ commanded that graves be levelled, yet today people make them high and lofty and build them like houses.
Veneration of Graves and the Danger of Shirk: Mulla Ali Qari (may Allah have mercy on him)
Mulla Ali Qari (may Allah have mercy on him), explaining this hadith, says that praying while facing graves is an exaggeration in venerating them, which is the exclusive right of Allah. If this veneration is for the grave or its occupant, it will be counted as shirk.
Hadith 9: Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)
Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Pray in your houses and do not make them graveyards.”
Do not make your houses graveyards: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the Prophet ﷺ forbade making his grave a place of prostration. He said that houses should not be made graveyards, meaning they should not be left empty of prayer and supplication, so that they do not become like graveyards. This means that worship should be established in houses and worship near graves should be prevented.
The grave of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the expansion of the mosque: Allamah San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a mosque was not built over the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. Even after the expansion of the Prophetic Mosque, his grave remained in its place and was not made into a mosque. The accusation of building a mosque over his grave could only arise if a deceased person were buried in an ordinary graveyard and a mosque was later built there.
Hadith 10: Sayyidna Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him)
Sayyidna Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The entire earth is a mosque except for the bathhouse and the graveyard.”
Prohibition of praying facing graves: Allamah Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the ahadith concerning praying facing graves are mutawatir, which is clear evidence that doing so is haram and invalid. There is no deficiency in these ahadith’s prohibition, and they establish its prohibition.
The purpose of praying at graves: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) states that if a person prays facing the graves of prophets or righteous people seeking blessing, this act is rebellion against Allah and His Messenger ﷺ and opposition to the religion. There is consensus of the Muslims that there is no virtue in praying near graves; rather, it is pure evil.
Mosques on graves and veneration: Allamah Alusi Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Alusi Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says in his tafsir Ruh al-Ma’ani that some people consider it permissible to build mosques on the graves of righteous people and pray there, but this view is false, baseless, and corrupt. In the light of the Quran and Sunnah, doing so is absolutely not correct.
Refutation of building a mosque on graves: Allamah San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him) refutes the view of Baydawi, in which he permits building a mosque near graves and praying there, on condition that the intention is not veneration. San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him) says that building a mosque near a grave and praying there with the intention of seeking blessing falls under veneration, and the ahadith of prohibition are unrestricted.
Clarification about building a mosque near graves
Some people say that mosques are not built over graves but to one side of them. In reality, however, a mosque built near a grave is counted as being built on the grave. In Arabic, such usages are common, as when it is said that “a certain king built a wall over a certain city or town,” although the wall surrounds the city and is not on top of it.
Statements of the scholars: building mosques and structures on graves
Throughout Islamic history, senior scholars and jurists have declared building mosques on graves and praying there to be haram and forbidden. Their details are as follows:
Imam al-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him)
Imam al-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) considered building a mosque on a grave and praying facing a grave to be makruh.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says that building a mosque on graves is not permissible, nor is it correct to bring vows and offerings there, because such a vow is a vow of disobedience.
Hafiz al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him)
Hafiz al-Suyuti says that those who build mosques on graves and light lamps there have been cursed. The scholars have consensus that doing so is haram.
Hafiz al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Hafiz al-Nawawi says that according to the fatwas of Imam al-Shafi’i and his companions, building a mosque on a grave is considered makruh, whether the deceased was righteous or wicked.
Allamah Barkawi Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Barkawi Hanafi says that most Islamic schools of thought have prohibited building mosques on graves and praying facing them.
Ibn Abidin Shami (may Allah have mercy on him)
Ibn Abidin Shami writes that he has not seen any scholar declare building a structure on a grave to be permissible.
Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him)
Citing the hadith of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr says that taking graves as places of prostration is haram.
Allamah Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Qurtubi says that building mosques on graves, praying there, and constructing buildings are prohibited.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said that it is necessary to demolish the mosques built over graves, and that praying in them is disliked.
Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him)
Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Shaytan established graves and idols for the polytheists to worship, and that it is obligatory to demolish all of them.
Conclusion
The summary of this article is that, according to Islamic teachings and the unanimous opinion of the scholars, building mosques on graves, constructing structures on them, and praying facing them is explicitly haram and impermissible. The Prophet ﷺ clearly forbade this practice, and the hadiths state that those who make graves places of worship have been cursed.
In light of the fatwas of scholars and Islamic history, it is completely clear that building mosques on graves, or presenting offerings and vows at them as a form of veneration, falls under shirk and bid’ah. The Companions, the Tabi’un, and eminent scholars have always opposed this practice. It is necessary to demolish such places and to refrain from acts of worship there, so that the teachings of Islam may be protected and pure Tawhid may be maintained.
All these proofs make clear that taking graves as places of prostration is contrary to the religion of Islam, and it is obligatory upon every Muslim to take the necessary steps to prevent this practice.
