8/13. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 704 — Images and Graves
The Prohibition Of Taking Graves As Masjids
Hadith About Images and Graves in Worship Places
Sunan an-Nasai : 704
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 704
أَخْبَرَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ، وَأُمَّ سَلَمَةَ ذَكَرَتَا كَنِيسَةً رَأَتَاهَا بِالْحَبَشَةِ فِيهَا تَصَاوِيرُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ أُولَئِكَ إِذَا كَانَ فِيهِمُ الرَّجُلُ الصَّالِحُ فَمَاتَ بَنَوْا عَلَى قَبْرِهِ مَسْجِدًا وَصَوَّرُوا تِيكَ الصُّوَرَ أُولَئِكَ شِرَارُ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ " .
A'isha Narrated from:
Umm Habibah and Umm Salamah mentioned a church that they had seen in Ethiopia, in which there were images. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Those people, if there was a righteous man among them, when he died they built a place of worship over his grave and made those images. They will be the most evil of creation before Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 704In-book reference : Book 8, Hadith 17English translation : Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith 705
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 704
This hadith about images and graves records a conversation in which Umm Habibah and Umm Salamah mentioned a church they had seen in Ethiopia that contained images. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that those people would build a place of worship over the grave of a righteous man after he died, and then they would make those images. He then described them as the worst of creation before Allah on the Day of Resurrection. The hadith links two actions in the wording: building over the grave of a righteous person and making images in that place. It gives a strong warning about mixing graves, images, and worship spaces.
What we learn from this hadith
- The text warns against building a worship place over a righteous person’s grave.
- Images in that setting are mentioned as part of the condemned practice.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم corrected what was mentioned about the church in Ethiopia.
- The warning is tied to standing before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.
