Preferring the view that the ḥadīth embraces all of its possible meanings, and al-Shāfiʿī’s endorsement of that view

In short, the “taking” mentioned in the foregoing ḥadīths covers all three senses; it is one of the Prophet’s ﷺ concise, all-inclusive expressions. Imām al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, upheld this understanding. In his book al-Umm (1 / 246) he writes:

“I regard it as reprehensible for a mosque to be built over a grave, for the grave to be plastered or leveled, for anyone to perform prayer on it while it is still raised and clearly recognizable, or to pray facing it. If someone does pray toward it, his prayer is technically valid, yet he has acted wrongly. Mālik narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians; they turned the graves of their prophets into places of worship.’ I disapprove of this practice because of the Sunnah and the transmitted reports, and because—Allah knows best—the Prophet disliked that any Muslim be so venerated that his grave becomes a mosque; such a step would almost certainly give rise to temptation and misguidance for those who come after.”

Al-Shāfiʿī thus adduces the ḥadīth for all three meanings he himself listed, which is clear proof that he understands the ḥadīth as