Among the merits of Islamic law is its prohibition and warning against glorifying graves. This is supported by what was narrated by the two Sheikhs, Al-Bukhari and Muslim, may Allah have mercy on them, from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: The Messenger of Allah May God bless him and grant him peace said: “May Allah curse the Jews and Christians, for they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.” Aisha said: “He was warning against what they did.” She also said: “Had it not been for that, his grave would have been made prominent, but he feared it would be taken as a mosque.” In the two Sahihs, it is also narrated that Umm Salama and Umm Habiba, may Allah be pleased with them, mentioned to the Messenger of Allah May God bless him and grant him peace a church they saw in Abyssinia and the images it contained. He May God bless him and grant him peace said: “Those people, when a righteous man among them died, they built a place of worship over his grave and made those images. They are the worst of creation in the sight of Allah.”
In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Jundub bin Abdullah who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah May God bless him and grant him peace five days before he died saying: “I disassociate myself before Allah from having any of you as a close friend, for Allah has taken me as a close friend just as He took Abraham as a close friend. If I were to take a close friend from my nation, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend. Beware, those who came before you used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship; I forbid you from that.”
There are many hadiths on this topic, and the scholars of Islam from all four schools of thought and others have unanimously prohibited building mosques over graves, warning against it in adherence to the Sunnah of the Messenger May God bless him and grant him peace, advising the Ummah, and warning them not to fall into what the extremists among the Jews and Christians and their likes from the misguided of this Ummah fell into.
It is obligatory for the Islamic Sciences Association in Jordan and other Muslims to adhere to the Sunnah, follow the path of the Imams, and beware of what Allah and His Messenger warned against. This is for the well-being, happiness, and salvation of the people in this world and the hereafter. Some people have clung to the verse in the story of the People of the Cave: “Those who prevailed in their matter said, ‘We will surely take [for ourselves] over them a masjid.’” [Al-Kahf: 21]
The answer to this is that Allah, the Exalted, informed about the leaders and those in control at that time that they said this statement, not as an endorsement or approval, but as a condemnation and criticism to deter from their actions. This is evidenced by the fact that the Messenger May God bless him and grant him peace, to whom this verse was revealed and who is the most knowledgeable of its interpretation, prohibited his Ummah from taking graves as places of worship, warned them against it, and cursed and condemned those who did it. If it were permissible, the Messenger of Allah May God bless him and grant him peace would not have emphasized this prohibition so strongly and cursed those who did it, stating that they are the worst of creation in the sight of Allah. This is sufficient and convincing for the seeker of truth.
Even if we assume that building mosques over graves was permissible for those before us, it would not be permissible for us to follow them in that, because our Shariah abrogates the previous laws, and our Messenger May God bless him and grant him peace is the final prophet, and his Shariah is complete and universal. He prohibited us from taking graves as places of worship, so it is not permissible for us to go against him. We must follow him and adhere to what he brought and abandon what contradicts that from the old laws and customs deemed good by those who practiced them, for there is nothing more perfect than the law of Allah and no guidance better than the guidance of the Messenger of Allah May God bless him and grant him peace.
We ask Allah to grant us and all Muslims steadfastness in His religion and adherence to the Shariah of His Messenger Muhammad May God bless him and grant him peace in words and deeds, both outwardly and inwardly, in all matters until we meet Allah, the Exalted. Indeed, He is All-Hearing, Near. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon His servant and Messenger Muhammad, his family, companions, and those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment.
