5/3. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 528a — Graves & Worship
The prohibition of building masajid over graves and placing images therein; and the prohibition of taking graves as masajid
Hadith About Graves and Mosques: A Warning Against Worship Places on Graves
Sahih Muslim : 528a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 528a
وَحَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، أَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ، وَأُمَّ سَلَمَةَ ذَكَرَتَا كَنِيسَةً رَأَيْنَهَا بِالْحَبَشَةِ - فِيهَا تَصَاوِيرُ - لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ أُولَئِكِ إِذَا كَانَ فِيهِمُ الرَّجُلُ الصَّالِحُ فَمَاتَ بَنَوْا عَلَى قَبْرِهِ مَسْجِدًا وَصَوَّرُوا فِيهِ تِلْكَ الصُّوَرَ أُولَئِكِ شِرَارُ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ " .
A'isha Narrated from:
Umm Habiba and Umm Salama made a mention before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) of a church which they had seen in Abyssinia and which had pictures in it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When a pious person amongst them (among the religious groups) dies they build a place of worship on his grave, and then decorate it with such pictures. They would be the worst of creatures on the Day of judgment in the sight of Allah.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 528aIn-book reference : Book 5, Hadith 21USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1076
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 528a
This Hadith about graves and mosques reports a serious warning from the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Aisha says that Umm Habiba and Umm Salama mentioned a church they had seen in Abyssinia. It had pictures inside it. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) explained that when a pious person among those people died, they built a place of worship over his grave and decorated it with pictures. He then said that such people would be the worst of creatures before Allah on the Day of Judgment. The wording focuses on a specific practice: turning graves of pious people into places of worship and adding pictures there. For searches like hadith about building mosques over graves and pictures in church hadith, the message is a warning to protect worship from practices tied to graves.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Hadith warns against building a place of worship over a pious person’s grave.
- It mentions decorating that place with pictures.
- The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave a severe warning about the people who did that.
- The focus is on protecting worship from grave-centered practices.
