64/83. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 4444 — Do Not Turn Graves Into Mosques
The sickness of the Prophet (saws) and his death
وَقَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: {إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ}.
Hadith About Not Taking Graves as Places of Worship
Sahih Bukhari : 4444
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 4444
وَأَخْبَرَنِي عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ، أَنَّ عَائِشَةَ، وَعَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَبَّاسٍ، رضى الله عنهم قَالاَ لَمَّا نَزَلَ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم طَفِقَ يَطْرَحُ خَمِيصَةً لَهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ، فَإِذَا اغْتَمَّ كَشَفَهَا عَنْ وَجْهِهِ وَهْوَ كَذَلِكَ يَقُولُ " لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْيَهُودِ وَالنَّصَارَى، اتَّخَذُوا قُبُورَ أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ مَسَاجِدَ ". يُحَذِّرُ مَا صَنَعُوا.
`Aisha and `Abdullah bin `Abbas Narrated from:
When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) became ill seriously, he started covering his face with his woolen sheet, and when he felt short of breath, he removed it from his face and said, 'That is so! Allah's curse be on the Jews and the Christians, as they took the graves of their prophets as (places of worship),' intending to warn (the Muslims) of what they had done.
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 4443, 4444In-book reference : Book 64, Hadith 464USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 5, Book 59, Hadith 727
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 4444
This hadith about not taking graves as places of worship repeats a clear warning from the Prophet’s final illness. Aisha and Abdullah bin Abbas describe him covering his face with a woolen sheet, then uncovering it when he felt short of breath. While in that state, he warned about those who took the graves of their prophets as places of worship. The narration itself explains that he was warning Muslims against what they had done. This makes the teaching easy to understand: respect for prophets does not mean turning their graves into prayer sites. For searches such as graves of prophets hadith and praying near graves hadith, this report gives the core guidance straight from the text.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم warned against using prophets’ graves as worship places.
- The warning was given during a time of great illness.
- The hadith says the purpose was to warn Muslims from that action.
- Respect for the dead should not change the way worship is directed.
