The Maliki mufassir (exegete), al-Qurtubi, writes in
al-Jaami' li Ahkaam il-Qur'an, in explanation of the verse in Surah al-Kahf (18:21), refer to the printed version (Dar Aalam al-Kutub, 1423H, 10/381):
فاتخاذ المساجد على
القبور والصلاة فيها والبناء عليها، إلى غير ذلك مما تضمنته السنة من النهي
عنه ممنوع لا يجوز؛ ... قال علماؤنا: وهذا يحرم على المسلمين أن يتخذوا
قبور الأنبياء والعلماء مساجد
Taking
places of worship over graves and praying therein and constructing over
them and other such affairs all come under that which the Sunnah has
forbade, it is prohibited, impermissible... Our scholars have said: And
this is unlawful upon the Muslims, that they take the graves of their
prophets and scholars as places of worship.
He continues:
وروى الأئمة عن أبي
مرثد الغنوي قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: (لا تصلوا إلى
القبور ولا تجلسوا عليها) لفظ مسلم. أي لا تتخذوها قبلة فتصلوا عليها أو
إليها كما فعل اليهود والنصارى، فيؤدي إلى عبادة من فيها كما كان السبب في
عبادة الأصنام. فحذر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن مثل ذلك، وسد الذرائع
المؤدية إلى ذلك فقال: (اشتد غضب الله على قوم اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم
وصالحيهم مساجد). وروى الصحيحان عن عائشة وعبدالله بن عباس قالا: لما نزل
برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم طفق يطرح خميصة له على وجهه فإذا اغتم بها
كشفها عن وجهه فقال وهو كذلك: (لعنة الله على اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور
أنبيائهم مساجد) يحذر ما صنعوا.
The Scholars report from Abu Murthid al-Ghanawi who said: I heard the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said, "Do not pray towards the graves, and do not sit over them", the wording is of Muslim. Meaning do not take them as a qiblah, praying over them or towards them as the Jews and Christians
used to do, thereby leading to worship of whoever is within them, as
was the underlying case of the worship of idols. So the Prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) warned against the likes of that and he
closed the avenues leading towards that, so he said, "Allah's anger is severe against a people who took the graves of their prophets and righteous as places of worship."
And in the two Sahihs, from Aa'ishah, Abd Allaah bin Abbaas, who both
said, "When the illness befell the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
alayhi wasallam), he would put his shirt over his face and when it
agitated him, he would remove it from his face, and he said whilst in
that state, "May Allaah curse the Jews and Christians, they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship." He would warn from what they did.
Then he brings more narrations:
وروى مسلم عن جابر
قال: نهي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يجصص القبر وأن يقعد عليه وأن
يبنى عليه. وخرجه أبو داود والترمذي أيضا عن جابر قال: نهى رسول الله صلى
الله عليه وسلم صلى أن تجصص القبور وأن يكتب عليها وأن يبنى عليها وأن
توطأ. قال الترمذي: هذا حديث حسن صحيح. وروى الصحيح عن أبي الهياج الأسدي
قال قال لي علي بن أبي طالب: ألا أبعثك على ما بعثني عليه رسول الله صلى
الله عليه وسلم: ألا تدع تمثالا إلا طمسته ولا قبرا مشرفا إلا سويته - في
رواية - ولا صورة إلا طمستها. وأخرجه أبو داود والترمذي.
And Muslim reports from Jaabir who said, "The
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) prohibited the
plastering of graves, sitting on them and construction over them" ... and in the Sahih (of al-Bukhari) from Abu al-Hayaaj al-Asadee who said: Ali (bin Abi Talib) said, "Shall
I not send you as the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)
sent me? That you do not leave any idol except that you destroy it, and
nor any raised grave except that you level it" - and in a narration, "and nor any picture except that you obliterate it" and it was related also by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
Then he says:
قال علماؤنا: ظاهره
منع تسنيم القبور ورفعها وأن تكون لاطئة. وقد قال به بعض أهل العلم. وذهب
الجمهور إلى أن هذا الارتفاع المأمور بإزالته هو ما زاد على التسنيم، ويبقى
للقبر ما يعرف به ويحترم، وذلك صفة قبر نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم
وقبر صاحبيه رضي الله عنهما - على ما ذكر مالك في الموطأ - وقبر أبينا آدم
صلى الله عليه وسلم، على ما رواه الدارقطني من حديث ابن عباس. وأما تعلية
البناء الكثير على نحو ما كانت الجاهلية تفعله تفخيما وتعظيما فذلك يهدم
ويزال؛ فإن فيه استعمال زينة الدنيا في أول منازل الآخرة، وتشبها بمن كان
يعظم القبور ويعبدها. وباعتبار هذه المعاني وظاهر النهي أن ينبغي أن يقال:
هو حرام
Our
Scholars said: That which is apparent from it is prohibition of raising
graves and that they should be level. But some of the people of
knowledge have spoken with this (view) although the majority hold the
view that the raising whose levelling has been commanded is what is
additional to the natural raising of the grave, and that there should
remain that by which the grave can be recognized and respected. This is
the description of the grave of our Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) upon what has been reported by al-Darqutnee from the hadeeth
of Ibn Abbaas. As for making much-elevated constructions like what the (people) of jaahiliyyah
used to out of exaggeration and veneration, then that is to be
destroyed and terminated. For there is contained within (that practice)
the placing of the adornment of the world into the very first stage (of
the stages of) the Hereafter, and resemblance of those who used to
venerate the graves and worship them. And out of consideration of this
meaning, and the apparent prohibition (in the texts) it is desirable for
it to be said: (This practice) is haraam (unlawful).
Comment
When al-Qurtubee said "
Our scholars..." he is
speaking of the Maaliki jurists, and it is established that this is what
the Maalikiyyah are upon (just like the other jurists of other
schools), that this practice is "
haraam." As for the doubt about
the Prophet's grave then that will be dealt with in other articles but
briefly, there is nothing in that for the innovators to justify their
beautification, adornment and construction over the graves of the dead
whom they venerate, because
firstly, the masjid was already built
and present before the grave of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) and no one built a place of worship on or around the Prophet's
grave, the mosque was already there, and the Prophet was buried outside
of the mosque in the house of Aa'ishah (radiallaahu anhaa).
Secondly,
the mosque was expanded in the time of al-Waleed bin Abd al-Malik (in
88H) who ordered the governor of Madeenah, Umar bin Abd al-Azeez, to
expand it, who did so reluctantly, and it incorporated the grave of the
Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and al-Waleed was criticised by
some of the people of knowledge for that in his time, though he
considered nothing wrong with this, and he ordered that it be done. From
this, a) no place of worship was built over the grave of the Prophet,
and b) nor was the Prophet buried in a mosque, hence, there is no proof
at all in this for the Innovators, and everything in those Prophetic
statements of severe prohibition remains, and the jurists of the various
schools never ceased speaking with that prohibition.
Source :
www.wahhabis.com
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