Grave Warnings: Building Mosques on Graves, Showing Off, Despairing from Allah’s Mercy, and Arrogance
Compiled by: Tauheed.com – [Link to Complete Book]
Umm al-Mu’minin ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated:
Umm Ḥabībah and Umm Salamah رضي الله عنهما mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ a church they had seen in Abyssinia that had images inside it.
Upon this, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whenever a righteous person among them died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and make images therein. These are the worst of creatures in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
(Al-Bukhari: 427; Muslim, al-Masājid: 528)
ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها further narrated:
"During the illness of the Prophet ﷺ, he said: 'May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.'”
She added:
"If it had not been for the concern that people would make his grave a mosque, it would have been placed in an open area, but it was kept within the room."
(Al-Bukhari: 1330; Muslim: 529)
Sincerity is a condition for the acceptance of any righteous deed. It must be free from all forms of riyā’ (showing off) and ostentation.
"يُرَاءُونَ النَّاسَ وَلَا يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّـهَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا" ﴿النساء: 142﴾
"They show off to people, but they remember Allah only a little."
◈ Jundub رضي الله عنه narrated:
"Whoever performs a deed to show off, Allah will expose him on the Day of Judgment. And whoever does a good deed for the sake of gaining fame, Allah will make his faults known to all."
(Al-Bukhari: 6499; Muslim: 2987)
◈ Ḥammūd bin Labīd رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"The thing I fear most for you is minor shirk."
The Companions asked: "What is minor shirk, O Messenger of Allah?"
He replied:
"Riyā’ (showing off). Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: 'Go to those for whom you used to show off your deeds in the world, and see if you can find any reward with them!'"
(Musnad Aḥmad: 24030, 5/428)
◈ The Prophet ﷺ said:
"This ummah will suffer from shirk more hidden than the crawling of an ant."
The Companions asked: "O Messenger of Allah! How can we protect ourselves from it?"
He replied:
"Recite this duʿā’:
اللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لَا أَعْلَمُ
'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.'"
(Ibn Ḥibbān; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ: 3/233)
◈ Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
The first three people to be judged on the Day of Judgment:
➊ The Martyr – Allah will remind him of His blessings, which he will acknowledge. Then Allah will say: “You lied. You fought so that people would call you brave.” He will be thrown into Hell.
➋ The Wealthy Man – He will claim to have spent in Allah’s cause. Allah will say: “You lied. You spent so people would call you generous.” Then he will be cast into Hell.
➌ The Scholar (or Qārī) – He will say: “I learned and taught knowledge, and recited the Qur’an for Your sake.” Allah will say: “You lied. You did so that people would call you a scholar.” He too will be thrown into Hell.
(Muslim: 1905)
Even in the most difficult circumstances, a believer must maintain hope in Allah’s mercy.
"إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّـهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ" ﴿يوسف: 87﴾
"Indeed, none despairs of Allah’s mercy except the disbelieving people."
◈ Jābir رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"None of you should die except while having good expectations from Allah."
(Muslim: 2877)
◈ One of the Prophet’s ﷺ frequent supplications was:
اللَّهُمَّ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ
"O Allah, keep my heart firm upon Your religion."
The Companions asked: "Do you fear for us?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
"All hearts are between two fingers of the Most Merciful. He turns them as He wills."
(Ibn Mājah: 3834 – Al-Albānī graded it ṣaḥīḥ, while Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai considered its isnād ḍaʿīf)
A believer must maintain both hope in Allah's mercy and fear of His punishment, along with confessing sins and regarding one's deeds as insignificant — this is part of true faith.
◈ ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise."
A Companion asked: "What if someone likes to wear good clothes and shoes? Is that pride?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
"Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride is rejecting the truth and looking down upon people."
(Muslim: 91)
◈ Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Grandeur is My lower garment and pride is My cloak; whoever tries to snatch either from Me, I will punish him."
(Muslim: 2620)
"On the Day of Judgment, the arrogant will be raised like tiny ants. Humiliation will overwhelm them. They will be thrown into the prison of Hell called ‘Bulis’ and will be given the filth of the inhabitants of Hell (ṭīnat al-khabāl) to drink."
(Al-Tirmidhi: 2492)
◈ Abu Dharr al-Ghifāri رضي الله عنه narrated:
"Three types of people Allah will neither speak to, nor look at, nor purify on the Day of Judgment — and for them is a painful punishment:
➊ One who lets his garment drag on the ground out of pride
➋ One who reminds others of his charity
➌ One who sells his goods through false oaths"
(Muslim: 106)
◈ ʿAbdullah bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated:
"Whoever drags his garment arrogantly, Allah will not look at him with mercy."
(Al-Bukhari: 5791; Muslim: 2085)
◈ Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated:
"A man, dressed well and walking with pride, was swallowed by the earth. He will continue sinking into it until the Day of Judgment."
(Al-Bukhari: 5789; Muslim: 2088)
Compiled by: Tauheed.com – [Link to Complete Book]
❖ Prohibition of Building Mosques Over Graves of Prophets and Saints
Umm al-Mu’minin ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated:
Umm Ḥabībah and Umm Salamah رضي الله عنهما mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ a church they had seen in Abyssinia that had images inside it.
Upon this, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whenever a righteous person among them died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and make images therein. These are the worst of creatures in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
(Al-Bukhari: 427; Muslim, al-Masājid: 528)
ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها further narrated:
"During the illness of the Prophet ﷺ, he said: 'May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.'”
She added:
"If it had not been for the concern that people would make his grave a mosque, it would have been placed in an open area, but it was kept within the room."
(Al-Bukhari: 1330; Muslim: 529)
❖ Showing Off (Riyā’) in Worship
Sincerity is a condition for the acceptance of any righteous deed. It must be free from all forms of riyā’ (showing off) and ostentation.
⚠ Evidence from the Qur'an
"يُرَاءُونَ النَّاسَ وَلَا يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّـهَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا" ﴿النساء: 142﴾
"They show off to people, but they remember Allah only a little."
⚠ Sayings of the Prophet ﷺ
◈ Jundub رضي الله عنه narrated:
"Whoever performs a deed to show off, Allah will expose him on the Day of Judgment. And whoever does a good deed for the sake of gaining fame, Allah will make his faults known to all."
(Al-Bukhari: 6499; Muslim: 2987)
◈ Ḥammūd bin Labīd رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"The thing I fear most for you is minor shirk."
The Companions asked: "What is minor shirk, O Messenger of Allah?"
He replied:
"Riyā’ (showing off). Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: 'Go to those for whom you used to show off your deeds in the world, and see if you can find any reward with them!'"
(Musnad Aḥmad: 24030, 5/428)
◈ The Prophet ﷺ said:
"This ummah will suffer from shirk more hidden than the crawling of an ant."
The Companions asked: "O Messenger of Allah! How can we protect ourselves from it?"
He replied:
"Recite this duʿā’:
اللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لَا أَعْلَمُ
'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.'"
(Ibn Ḥibbān; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ: 3/233)
❖ The Fate of Those Who Show Off
◈ Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
The first three people to be judged on the Day of Judgment:
➊ The Martyr – Allah will remind him of His blessings, which he will acknowledge. Then Allah will say: “You lied. You fought so that people would call you brave.” He will be thrown into Hell.
➋ The Wealthy Man – He will claim to have spent in Allah’s cause. Allah will say: “You lied. You spent so people would call you generous.” Then he will be cast into Hell.
➌ The Scholar (or Qārī) – He will say: “I learned and taught knowledge, and recited the Qur’an for Your sake.” Allah will say: “You lied. You did so that people would call you a scholar.” He too will be thrown into Hell.
(Muslim: 1905)
❖ Despairing from Allah’s Mercy
Even in the most difficult circumstances, a believer must maintain hope in Allah’s mercy.
⚠ Qur'anic Testimony
"إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّـهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ" ﴿يوسف: 87﴾
"Indeed, none despairs of Allah’s mercy except the disbelieving people."
❖ Good Expectations and Duʿā’
◈ Jābir رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"None of you should die except while having good expectations from Allah."
(Muslim: 2877)
◈ One of the Prophet’s ﷺ frequent supplications was:
اللَّهُمَّ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ
"O Allah, keep my heart firm upon Your religion."
The Companions asked: "Do you fear for us?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
"All hearts are between two fingers of the Most Merciful. He turns them as He wills."
(Ibn Mājah: 3834 – Al-Albānī graded it ṣaḥīḥ, while Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai considered its isnād ḍaʿīf)
A believer must maintain both hope in Allah's mercy and fear of His punishment, along with confessing sins and regarding one's deeds as insignificant — this is part of true faith.
❖ Arrogance (Takabbur)
⚠ Arrogance and Paradise
◈ ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise."
A Companion asked: "What if someone likes to wear good clothes and shoes? Is that pride?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
"Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride is rejecting the truth and looking down upon people."
(Muslim: 91)
⚠ Allah’s Might and the Arrogant
◈ Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Grandeur is My lower garment and pride is My cloak; whoever tries to snatch either from Me, I will punish him."
(Muslim: 2620)
⚠ End of the Arrogant
"On the Day of Judgment, the arrogant will be raised like tiny ants. Humiliation will overwhelm them. They will be thrown into the prison of Hell called ‘Bulis’ and will be given the filth of the inhabitants of Hell (ṭīnat al-khabāl) to drink."
(Al-Tirmidhi: 2492)
❖ Additional Hadiths on Arrogance
◈ Abu Dharr al-Ghifāri رضي الله عنه narrated:
"Three types of people Allah will neither speak to, nor look at, nor purify on the Day of Judgment — and for them is a painful punishment:
➊ One who lets his garment drag on the ground out of pride
➋ One who reminds others of his charity
➌ One who sells his goods through false oaths"
(Muslim: 106)
◈ ʿAbdullah bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated:
"Whoever drags his garment arrogantly, Allah will not look at him with mercy."
(Al-Bukhari: 5791; Muslim: 2085)
◈ Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated:
"A man, dressed well and walking with pride, was swallowed by the earth. He will continue sinking into it until the Day of Judgment."
(Al-Bukhari: 5789; Muslim: 2088)
