Q391 :When I went to my home country on vacation, I
observed that a grand mosque was built on top of a graveyard. There is
still a tomb below the mosque. I wonder whether this is appropriate. If
not, what should be done about this mosque?
A391 : The Prophet says that one of the favors which
Allah has given to the nation of Islam is that the whole earth has been
made a “masjid” for it; [masjid is the Arabic word for “mosque”). This
refers to the fact that a Muslim may offer his prayer anywhere on
earth, provided of course that the place where he is praying is free
from impurity. However, the Prophet has made an exception in the two
cases of a graveyard and a bathroom. Prayer may not be offered in these
two places. Nor is it permissible for a Muslim to offer his prayer
facing a grave or a tomb or any burial place. The Prophet curses the
children of Israel for having “turned the graves of their prophets into
praying places.” All this makes it clear that places of burial are not
proper to build mosques in, nor is it permissible to built a mosque
around a grave or a tomb. The reason for this is to prevent any
possibility of enshrining the burial place of any person. That is a
sure way which leads to entertaining polytheistic beliefs. It is not
permissible to build a mosque within a graveyard. If such a mosque is
built, then the only proper thing to do with it is to demolish it. If
there is one in your locality, then it is preferable for you to pray at
home than to pray in that mosque. Having said that, I wish to take up
the different case of a disused graveyard where there are no more dead
people buried. Can we use that graveyard to build a mosque there? The
answer is that it may be permissible if certain conditions are met.
To start with, it should be reasonable to assume that those who were
buried have perished altogether. A graveyard is thus demolished and a
mosque built in its place. This is acceptable, but we should be careful
when we dig the place and when we lay down the foundation. If there are
any bones or traces of the dead people, they should be gathered and
buried somewhere else. The Prophet’s mosque in Madinah was built in a
place where there were some graves. These were dug out and the traces
of those who were buried in them were taken away. No one associated the
new mosque with the old graveyard. If these conditions are met, then it
is permissible to build a mosque in an area which used to be a burial
place. Your advice to the people should be on the basis of this answer.
If there are graves around the new mosque then the mosque should be
disused altogether. It is better demolished.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )