Questions 10

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Questions and Answers based on Kitaab at-Tawheed

By Shaykh al-Islaam Muhammad ibn Abd Al-Wahaab [May Allaah have Mercy on him]; Chapter 19

By Shaykh Sa’d ibn Naasir ash-Shithri [May Allah preserve him]

In the Shaykh’s Masjid after Salaat al’Asr

2/11/1432 - 30/9/2011

Question: What is the meaning of the hadeeth that prohibits us from praying near the graves?

Answer: It is a stern prohibition against praying at the graves and taking them as Masaajids based on the ahaadeeth narrated in this chapter.  Some people try and give this hadeeth and these prohibition alternate meanings, such as some saying that the reason why we are not allowed to pray there is because the land at the graveyard is impure because the dead bodies are buried there. However if the reason for the prohibition has been narrated within the text then we take it and it is not permissible for us to try to derive new reasons, therefore the prohibition has been narrated and mentioned in these hadeeth, therefore this is sufficient.

Question: Is it permissible to pray in a masjid that has a grave inside of it?

Answer: The Salaah in this type of Masjid is of twp types: The first type, if one prays in the masjid for the sake of Allaah and not for the sake of special blessing due to the grave being there, then his Salaah is Saheeh and the people should try their utmost to remove the grave from the Masjid. The second type is where the Masjid has been built over the grave; then we say that this Masjid is not a Masjid as it don fulfil its criteria and the Salaah is not Saheeh and he must repeat it.

Question:  What is the ruling of having a gravestone at the graves that show the persons names, date of birth and death and maybe some words talking about his life?

Answer: This is undoubtedly not permissible and it is Haraam as it has been mentioned in this chapter that Muslim narrated in his Saheeh that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] prohibited us from building over graves, sit on them or write over them, this was on the authority of Jaabir [May Allaah be Pleased with him].

Question: If there is a Masjid and it has a graveyard next to it but then the Masjid extends, what is the ruling on this?

Answer: If this is the case then the Masjid has stolen this land, as the graveyard belongs to the public and a kind of Waqf and we can’t take it. So if we have this type of Masjid then we are not allowed to pray in it.

Question: Some people say that our proof is, ‘Well if we are allowed to pray Janazah in the Masjid then we can pray normal Salawaat in the Masjid’?

Answer: The answer is that we can pray Janazah but this don’t justify the oppression one would do if he takes the land and makes a Masjid on it and if you are praying on a land that has dead people underneath then the Salaah is not Saheeh. Our Shar’eeah has come with ways to prevent ones wealth and possessions being lost and if one was to build a Masjid over a graveyard then it would be taking other people’s rights away.

Question: Some people may use the story in Surah Khaf [18:21] as proof to say we can build a Masjid over dead people and that it was from the Shar’eeah of the Prophets before us.

Answer:  From the conditions of using the Shar’eeah of the previous Prophets as a proof is that it must not contradict our current Sharee’ah, so even if they try to use this as proof then we can say this is not the case in our Shar’eeah as the ahaadeeth in this chapter indicate. Secondly, we can’t use this as proof as this wasn’t from the acts of the Prophets, it was an act of the people who came after without any authorisation from the Prophets that were sent to them. Thirdly, in the story Allaah mentions their story and doesn’t speak positive of their action, so there is no consent.

Question:  Is the land of the graveyard itself impure or is it because what it contains underneath?

Answer: The scholars differed on this issue. For example, if we planted a tree in the graveyard and it gave off fruits, are we allowed to eat it? Or it is haram because the land is impure? We say that the land itself is pure so you can eat from it but what is underneath is what makes it impure for us to build on.

Question: What answer do we give to those who try to prove the argument of building Masjids on graves by Masjid an-Nabawi?

Answer: As we previously explained there is no proof in it because it is not from the consent or acts of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah are upon him] rather the extension of the Masjid over the house of Aa’ishah [May Allaah be Pleased with her] came a long time after his death, therefore it is not a proof. Also, the grave of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah are upon him] is not part of the Masjid as it is part of the house of Aa’ishah [May Allaah be Pleased with her] and the house is partitioned being separate from the Masjid, therefore people pray in the Masjid and not in the house of Aa’ishah [May Allaah be Pleased with her], thus being separate from the Masjid.

Question:  If there a Masjid that has a grave in it but we don’t know what came first, the Masjid was built on the grave after or the grave was placed in the Masjid after?

Answer: If we are not sure the best thing is not to pray in this Masjid but the principle is that the Masjid has been built for the sake of Allaah until we can prove otherwise. So if we have proof that the Masjid has been built on the grave then only we should leave it, as the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah are upon him] forbade praying at graves.