Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Ruling on Performing Salaah in a Masjid that has a grave in it...

Shaykh Abdul-Azeez ibn Baaz

Reference: Noor 'alad-Darb Radio Programme, audio tape 62

Category: Creed

There is an individual who says: The ruling regarding the Salaah performed in a Masjid that has one grave, differs from a Masjid that has two, three or more graves in it. We request you to clarify this issue for us. Furthermore, what is its ruling when the Prophet of Allah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) has indeed said: “Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians for taking the graves of their prophets as Masjids.”[2] Bearing this in mind, there are some people after visiting the Prophet’s (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) Masjid in Madinah who argue that if the graves of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) and his two noble companions (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhumaa) are located within the Masjid, and that the Prophet’s Masjid (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) is like any another general Masjid in which it is permissible to perform Salaah [with the graves present there] Can you please explain this further?

The Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) cursed those people that built Masjids upon graves, and also warned against it as it was narrated in the aforementioned Hadeeth. He (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) also 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 Masjids; I forbid you to do that.”

This narration has been reported by Imam Muslim in his Saheeh.[3] It has also been reported by the two Shaykhs[4], on the authority of Aa‘ishah(radhi-yAllaahu 'anhaa) : Umm Habeebah and Umm Salamah (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhumaa) mentioned a church they had seen in Ethiopia and in the church there were pictures [in it]. When they told the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) of this, he said:

“Those people are such that if a pious man amongst them died, they build a place of worship over his grave and paint these pictures in it. Those people will be Allah's worst creatures on the Day of Resurrection.”[5]

So the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) pointed out consequently that the worst of all creation according to Allah are those who build Masjids upon graves and he warned against this act of theirs.

Hence, this implies and indicates that if a Masjid is located in the place of a grave or many graves, the Salaah must not be performed at such a place and there is no difference whether it has a single grave or more. Also if there is a Masjid that has been built afterwards upon the graves, it is an obligation to demolish that Masjid. The graves must be left in their normal apparent state with no building construction upon them. As this was the condition of all the graves in the time of the Messenger of Allaah ,(sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) at the graveyard of Baqee[6] and others. This is the condition of all the graves in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The graves have been left in their normal apparent state, there is no construction done upon them, there are no domes built upon them, there are no Masjids built upon them, and all praise is due to Allah for this great bounty of His.

However, regarding a Masjid that is old, and at the time of its construction there were no graves present within it, and then afterwards a grave or graves were built inside, then that grave or graves must be exhumed and dug up and the deceased moved to the public graveyard where there are no domes, no Masjids, and no constructions upon the graves. Then this old Masjid will once again be free from graves so that the people may be able to perform their Salaah in it.

With regards to some ignorant people who stipulate the permissibility of graves being allowed in Masjids due to the presence of the Prophet’s (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) grave and his two noble companions (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhumaa) graves being part of his (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) Masjid, then this can not be presented as an argument or proof, because the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) and his two noble companions (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhumaa) were buried in his (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) house and not inside the Masjid. But when Alwaleed bin Abul-Malik bin Marwaan[7] decided to expand the Prophet’s (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) Masjid, he included the house of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) as part of the Masjid, due to his intended extension. Alwaleed bin Abdul-Malik bin Marwaan committed an error when he did this, and what was obligatory upon him was not to include the house of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) as part of the Masjid so that the ignorant people would not be able to use this as evidence, and others that may advance themselves with this argument and present similar doubts. Without a doubt the people of knowledge rejected and refuted Alwaleed bin Abdul-Malik bin Marwaan with regards to this action of his. So therefore it is not permissible to follow Alwaleed bin Abdul-Malik bin Marwaan by building Masjids upon graves.

Furthermore, no assumptions should be made by anyone regarding the grave of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) that this action permits construction upon graves or building graves inside Masjids. This is because the house of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) was a separate house separated from the Masjid that was included and made part of the Masjid for the need of expanding it. So the real condition of the Prophet’s (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) grave was just like the graveyard that can be found opposite his Masjid, separate from it, in which there is no harm, and this was the actual state of the Prophet’s (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) grave separated by a wall and barriers.

It should be the aim of every single Muslim to clarify this issue to his brothers [& sisters] so that they do not make this mistake and develop an incorrect understanding on this issue.


1) Abu Bakr: he is Abdullah bin Uthmaan bin A’meer bin Amr bin Ka’ab bin Sa’ad bin Taym bin Murrah bin Ka’ab bin Luwai Attaymee Alqurshi. Refer to Ibn Abdil Bur’s ‘Al’isteeaab’ with marginal notes of ‘Al’isaabah’ of Ibn Hajr volume 2 page 234. Born in Makkah after 2 years and a few months after the year of the elephant corresponding to 573 CE. He passed away on 7th Jamaadul-A’khiraah, 13 years after Hijrah at the age of 63 in Madinah and is buried next to the Messenger of Allah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam).

Umar bin Khattab: he is Umar bin Khattab bin Nufail bin Abdul-Azaa bin Rabaah bin Abdullah bin Qurt bin Razaah bin Adee bin Ka’aab. Born in Makkah 13 years after the year of the elephant, corresponding to 584 CE. Refer to Ibn Hajr’s ‘Al’isaabah’ volume 2 page 511, & ‘Fathul-Baree’ volume 7 page 53. He passed away on the 26th Dhil-Hijjah 23 years after Hijrah at the age of 63 in Madinah. He is buried next to the Messenger of Allah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam). [TN]

2) Refer to the English Translation of Saheeh Bukhari, Book of Prayer, volume 1, Book 8, Hadeeth no: 427 & 428. [TN]

3) Refer to the English Translation of Saheeh Muslim for the complete Hadeeth, Chapter 47: Forbiddance to build Masjids on the Graves & decorating them with pictures and forbiddance to use graves as Masjids: Book 4: Hadeeth no: 1083. [TN]

4) Imam Bukhari: he is Abu Abdullah, Muhammad bin Isma’eel bin Almughairah Albukhari (194-256 A.H.), Imam Muslim: he is Abul Husain Muslim bin Alhujjaj bin Ward bin Kawshaaz Alqushairi (204-261 A.H) [TN]

5) Refer to the English Translation of Saheeh Bukhari: Book of Prayer, Volume 1, Book no. 8, Hadeeth no. 426: & Saheeh Muslim: Book of Prayer, Volume 1, Book no. 8, Hadeeth no: 419. [TN]

6) The graveyard of Madeenah situated opposite the Prophet’s (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) Masjid in which a great number of Companions (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhum) are buried. [TN]

7) One of the Muslim rulers of the Umayyad period. He became the Muslim ruler in the year 86 A.H. till 96 A.H. [TN]

Translator: Zulfiker Ibrahim al-Memoni al-Athari

Date Published: Thursday, 05 April 2007

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Ibn Shamsud-Deen:

For the benefit of readers, I will list down a few mosques in Singapore with graves in them:
  • Masjid Sultan (4 graves of royal members)
  • Masjid Wak Tanjong (3 graves)
  • Masjid Hajah Fatimah (1 grave)
  • Masjid Malabar (mosque and small graveyard in one compound)
  • Masjid Pusara Aman (it's in the graveyard area)
  • Surau Pusara Aman (although it has been fenced to separated the Musolla from the graveyard compound, it's still built in the graveyard compound.)
Wallaahu a'lam

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

...and masjid haji muhd salleh where makam habib nuh is

Ibn Shamsud-Deen as-Sanghafooree said...

masjid haji muhd salleh might have a different ruling.. as the maqam of habib nuh and the mosque can be considered as 2 different compounds..

hence, i didn't include it here as i'm not very sure of the ruling..

Wallahu a'lam

Unknown said...

No. I was happy to see this website as it follows the way of the Salaf. Maqam Habib Noh is inside the mosque. My friends have been to the mosque and mentioned there is the grave of the Soofee Habib Noh. Prayer inside such a mosque is invalid.

Anonymous said...

Bilal Philips is not a scholar. Moosaa Richardson, Abu Khadeejah, Mustafa Georfe ARE scholars.

Anonymous said...

Q: Is it lawful to offer Salah in Masjids that have graves inside them?

A: It is not permissible to pray in a mosque in which there is a grave because the Messenger (peace be upon him) cursed the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as mosques.


Q: If a mosque that has a grave is the only mosque in the village, can a Muslim perform prayers in this mosque?

A: A Muslim can never perform Salah in such a mosque. He has to perform Salah in another mosque or in his home if he cannot find a mosque without graves. If the grave inside the mosque was built later than the mosque, then the rulers should exhume it and move the remains to the public cemetery. This grave should be leveled like any other grave. However, if the grave was there first and then the Masjid was built over it, the Masjid should be demolished, since the Messenger (peace be upon him) cursed the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as places of worship. When Um Salamah and Um Habibah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) told the Prophet (peace be upon him) that they saw a church in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) that contains paintings, he (peace be upon him) told them: Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Book on funerals, Chapter on building Masjids on graves, no. 1341; and Muslim, Book on Masjids and places for Salah, Chapter on forbiddance to build Masjids on the graves..., no. 528."When a righteous person dies there, they build places of worship over his/her grave and paint these pictures on it.


They are the worst of creatures in the Sight of Allah." Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Whoever performs Prayer in Masjids where there are graves, his Prayer is invalid and he has to repeat it. This is based on the two previously mentioned Hadiths and the other Hadiths of the same meaning.

- Ibn Baz

Unknown said...

What about masjid temenggong opposite vivocity