السلام علیکم ورحمةاللہ وبرکاتہ
Honorable Scholars,
In our village, there lived a man who owned a significant amount of land. He gave some of this land to the poor Muslims of the village (the Dhobi community) for a graveyard (this was not officially registered with the government). Consequently, the people of the Dhobi community began to bury their deceased there, and this continued for many years. However, after the death of the man who had given the land, his family sold it.
Since the land was not previously registered, it was still in the name of the man who had donated it. Therefore, after his death, his family, despite knowing full well that this land was the graveyard for the Dhobi Muslims, sold it to another man from the village. The buyer was also a Muslim and was aware that this was the Dhobi community’s graveyard where they buried their deceased. Despite this knowledge, he purchased the land.
And on this land, he built a mosque. When we investigated the matter, approximately 95% of the villagers testified that yes, where the mosque has been built, there used to be the graveyard of the Dhobi community. When we asked the Dhobi community, their elders stated that they used to bury their parents there.
Then, we went to the laborers who built the mosque. Some of them have passed away, and some are still alive. They told us that wherever the ground was dug for the foundation, large bones (of the head, hands, feet, etc.) were found. They also added that these bones were only removed from the specific areas where the foundation was dug, not that the entire land of the mosque was excavated to remove the bones.
The Muslim Dhobi people also said that when the land was being dug up, it was like a state of mourning in our homes, and we were deeply pained. But because we were poor and weak, we could not stop it; we could only remain patient.
It has been approximately thirty to forty years since the mosque was built. The mosque is now two stories high and is active with worshippers.
Question: Was this mosque built in the right place?
Question: Is it correct for people to offer prayers (Salah) in this mosque?
Please provide a solution in the light of the Quran and Hadith. We would be very grateful to you.
Names of some living witnesses:
Shadab bin Badshah
Imran bin Sharafuddin
Imran bin Shamim
Aamir Umar bin Shaukat
Ishtiaq bin Isra’il
Wasim bin Sami’ullah
Shahid bin Ejaz
Azad bin Meraj
Mauza Bara, District Ghazipur, U.P., India.
If possible, please provide the answer in written form.
Jazakumullahu Khairan.
۔┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
وَعَلَيــْـــــــكُم السَّــــــــلاَم وَرَحْمَــــــــــةُاللهِ وَبَرَكـَـــــــــاتُه
The legal status (Shar’i Hukm) of building a mosque in a graveyard, as well as demolishing old graves to construct a mosque and offering prayers in it, are the core subjects around which the questioner’s query revolves. A few Hadiths in this regard are listed below:
In the light of these Hadiths, it is established that digging up the graves of Muslims, removing their bones, and building a mosque is absolutely forbidden. However, there is no sin in removing the graves of disbelievers, as there is no harm in their disrespect.
Whether a Muslim graveyard is government property or owned by an individual, registered or unregistered, exhuming graves to build mosques for the worship of Allah The Almighty is an absolutely impermissible act.
It should be known that graves should only be exhumed if there is a solid justification. The jurists of the Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools of thought have mentioned some cases where exhumation is permissible for a compelling need or benefit. The permissible purposes for exhuming a grave are of two types:
First purpose: To exhume for the benefit of the living or to remove harm from them.
Second purpose: To exhume for the benefit of the deceased or to remove harm from them.
In the matter of exhumation, there is no difference between whether the grave is old or new; what is important is that the reason for exhuming it is substantial. However, if a graveyard has become old, the practice of burying there has ceased, and it is a graveyard of non-Muslims, then the graves can be leveled and a mosque can be built there. Just as when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) migrated to Madinah, he leveled an old graveyard of the polytheists and built the Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid an-Nabawi) there.
[Sahih al-Bukhārī, as-Salāh: 428]
If it is known that the mosque existed first and the graveyard was established later, then the signs of graves in front of it should be erased, and if possible, from other sides as well, and prayers should continue as usual. If the graves were there first and the mosque was built later, then this is a mosque in a graveyard, and one should not pray in it. If the sequence of establishment is unknown, then the matter is doubtful, and the precautionary measure is not to pray there, because the matter of prayer is delicate.
Allamah Ibn Taymiyyah says:
“Every prayer is absolutely forbidden in any mosque that has been built on graves.”
(See: Al-Jawāb al-Bāhir fī Zuwwār al-Maqābir, p. 22, as quoted in Taḥdhīr as-Sājid by al-Albānī, p. 136)
Allamah Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) further states:
“The mosques that have been built on the graves of prophets, righteous people, kings, etc., should be demolished and eliminated. To my knowledge, there is no difference of opinion among the renowned scholars on this matter.”
[See: Iqtiḍā’ aṣ-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm: 159]
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia was asked:
Is it permissible to build a mosque over a grave out of necessity? Or to move the deceased to another location and build a mosque in the graveyard? Or to erect pillars in the graveyard, leaving the lower level in its original state, and build a mosque on the upper floor?
The Fatwa Committee replied:
“It is not permissible to build a mosque over a grave, nor is it permissible to dig up the graves of Muslims and build a mosque in that place, because the occupants of the graves have more right to the place where they were buried. Therefore, it is necessary to find another place for the construction of the mosque. And it is not permissible to erect pillars in a graveyard and build a structure on top of them, whether this upper construction is for a mosque or for any other purpose. This is because mosques cannot be built over graves, and doing so causes harm to the occupants of the graves. Also, praying in such a place becomes a means to associating partners with Allah (Shirk) through the occupants of the graves and exaggerating their status. That is why it is authentically established from the Prophet (ﷺ) that he said:
‘May Allah’s curse be upon the Jews and Christians, for they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.’
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Bāb mā yukrahu min Ittikhādh al-Masājid ‘ala al-Quboor, Hadith: 1330)
This hadith is agreed upon by Bukhari and Muslim.
And Imam Muslim has narrated in his Sahih from Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building upon them.
Furthermore, it is narrated in Sahih Muslim that he (ﷺ) said:
‘Beware! The people before you took 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 this.’”
[The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta / Fatwa No. 16357]
Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim says on this matter:
“Every place where Allah and His Messenger are disobeyed, it is necessary to burn and eliminate it like ‘Masjid al-Dirar’ (the Mosque of Harm)… Similarly, if a mosque is built on a grave, it is necessary to demolish that mosque, just as if a deceased person is buried in a mosque, the body is removed from the mosque, as has been narrated from Imam Ahmad and others. Therefore, in the religion of Islam, a mosque and a grave cannot be combined. Whichever was built later, the mosque or the grave, must be removed, and it is not correct to pray in such a mosque, because the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade it and cursed those who do so.”
[See: Zād al-Ma‘ād (3/22)]
In the light of this evidence, and assuming the question to be accurate, the construction of the said mosque is not correct. Regarding the person who originally owned the land, if he had disclosed at the time of giving it away that the land was not registered, this would be a virtuous act on his part. Otherwise, if the deceased owner did not mention it, according to our inclination, he is, Insha’Allah, free from blame. However, later the heirs of the deceased sold this land to another person in the village. Both the seller and the buyer were aware of the fact that this land was not only previously allocated but had been turned into a graveyard. Despite this, the transaction took place, which is an un-Islamic step by both parties. The real culprits are these two parties who bought and sold this land, which is not only a transgression of the limits of Sharia but also a desecration of Muslim graves.
The Hadiths mentioned in the initial lines above indicate that constructing a building on a grave is Haram (forbidden). The Prophet (ﷺ) ordered the demolition of structures built on graves.
It is narrated in Sahih Muslim from Abu’l-Hayyaj al-Asadi that ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, “I am sending you on the same mission as the Prophet (ﷺ) sent me: not to leave any idol without destroying it, nor any high grave without leveling it.”
This includes everything to which the word “construction” applies, whether it be a dome or anything else. And if a mosque is built on a grave, an even more severe warning has been reported from the Prophet (ﷺ) concerning it. The two Sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim) have narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: ((May Allah’s curse be upon the Jews and Christians; they took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration)). From Hadrat Abu Hurayrah (RA), it is narrated with these words: ((May Allah destroy the Jews and Christians; they took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration)).
In light of the textual evidence from the Hadiths, our inclination is that the construction of the said mosque is un-Islamic, and this mosque should be demolished. Furthermore, our advice is that this issue should also be presented to the scholars of the area.
We pray that Allah Almighty rectifies the deeds and conditions of the Muslims and grants them understanding of the religion. Indeed, Allah is the most worthy of being asked.
Wa billahi at-tawfiq. Wa salla Allahu ‘ala Nabiyyina Muhammad, wa ‘alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam.
: Mrs. Ansari
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