Ruling on praying in a mosque in which 
there is a grave

Question: Is prayer offered in a mosque in which there is a grave valid?

Answer: Prayers should not be offered in mosques in which there are graves. The graves must be dug up and the remains transferred to the public graveyard, with each individual set of remains placed in a separate grave, like all other graves. It is not permissible to leave any graves in the mosques, not the grave of a Wali (“saint”) or of anyone else, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against that, and he cursed the Jews and Christians for doing that. It was narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” (Saheeh, agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, al-Janaa’iz, 1330; Muslim, al-Masaajid, 529). ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “He was warning against doing what they did.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, al-Salaah, 435, 436; Muslim, al-Masaajid, 531). 

When Umm Salamah and Umm Habeebah told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about a church that they had seen in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and the images that were inside it, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those are people who, when a righteous slave or a righteous man among them died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and put those images in it. They are the most evil of creation before Allaah.” (Agreed upon; al-Bukhaari, 434; Muslim, 528). 

And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who came before you took the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship, for I forbid you to do that.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh from Jundub al-Bajali, in al-Masaajid, 532). So he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade taking graves as places of worship and cursed those who do that, and he said that they are the most evil of creation. So we must beware of doing that.  

It is known that anyone who prays at a grave is taking it as a place of worship, and whoever builds a mosque over a grave has taken it as a place of worship. Graves must be placed far away from mosques, and no graves should be located inside the mosques, in obedience to the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and so as to avoid the curse that has been issued by our Lord against those who build places of worship over graves. This is because if a person prays in a mosque in which there are graves, the Shaytaan may make attractive to him the idea of calling upon the deceased, seeking his help, praying to him or prostrating to him, which would make him commit an act of major shirk. This is also the action of the Jews and Christians, and we are obliged to differ from them and avoid following their path and doing their bad deeds.

 If the graves are ancient, and the mosque was subsequently built over them, then it must be knocked down and removed, because it is the mosque that came after, as was stated by the scholars. This is in order to avoid shirk and the means that lead to it. And Allaah is the source of strength.

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Shaykh Ibn Baaz, part 5, p. 388