The Meaning of Turning Graves into Mosques

From the hadiths cited above, the grave danger of converting graves into places of worship is evident, as is the severe threat that hangs over whoever commits this act before Allah, Mighty and Exalted. We therefore need to grasp the precise sense of the practice in order to avoid it. I explain:

This practice may be understood in three distinct ways:

1. Performing the prayer on top of graves—that is, prostrating upon them.
2. Prostrating toward them, facing them in prayer or supplication.
3. Building mosques over them and deliberately praying in those structures.

Scholarly Statements on the Meaning of This “Taking”

Each of these senses has been upheld by a number of scholars, and explicit texts concerning them have come down to us from the Master of the Prophets ﷺ.