for anyone to disregard them.

4. The Hanbali jurists state that one or two graves do not affect the ruling, because a place is not called a graveyard until it contains three graves or more, and because—in their view—the underlying reason for the prohibition is not evident.
   Shaykh Taqi al-Din remarked, “The effective cause is the polytheism to which this can ultimately lead.” He then added, “The general wording of their statements, their reasoning, and their proofs all entail banning prayer beside even a single grave—and that is the correct position.”

5. Accordingly, prayer is invalid in any mosque that contains a grave, even a single one, or if the grave is at the rear of the mosque, so long as it lies within the mosque’s confines.

6. Sitting on graves is forbidden because it insults those interred. Muslim relates from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said, “For one of you to sit on a live coal that burns his clothes and reaches his skin is better for him than to sit on a grave.” All the more so, then, is it unlawful to tread upon a grave, for that shows even greater disdain for a Muslim’s right: the grave is his home, and his inviolability when dead is the same as his inviolability when alive.

The sound course is for a Muslim to be neither extreme nor negligent: he must not venerate graves in a way that leads to temptation, nor belittle graves and their occupants so that their sanctity is lost. The best path lies in the middle, and Allah grants success.