…his predecessor, Umar ibn al-Khattab—may Allah be pleased with them all. Indeed, he was alluding to the fact that enlarging the mosque from the indicated side involved the very danger mentioned in the earlier hadiths, as will soon be related from him. As for their claim, “None of the early generations objected to this,” we reply: How could you possibly know that? Among the most difficult tasks, as scholars recognize, is to prove the non-existence of something that might have happened without coming to light. Such a claim would require a complete survey and full knowledge of everything that took place, and everything that was said, about the incident in question. How could this small group ever manage that, even if it were within their power? Had they consulted even a few of the relevant books, they would not have fallen into so blatant an error, and they would have found enough to keep them from denying what they had not fully investigated. Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir states in his History (vol. 9, p. 75), after narrating the story of bringing the Prophet’s grave into the mosque: “It is reported that Said ibn al-Musayyib objected to the inclusion of Aisha’s chamber in the mosque, as though he feared that the grave would be turned into a place of worship.” Whether or not this report is sound does not concern me greatly, for we are not basing a legal ruling on it. What seems likely is that Said ibn al-Musayyib and other scholars who witnessed that alteration strongly disapproved of it, because it clearly conflicted with the aforementioned hadiths—especially Aisha’s statement: “Had that not been feared, his grave would have been set out openly, but it was feared that it might be taken as a place of worship.” What the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—feared has, in fact, come to pass…