In his ijaza, the erudite Shaykh Muhammad Raghib al-Tabbakh devoted a study—published in the Journal of the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus (vol. 1, pp. 41–1482) under the title “The Head of Yahya and the Head of Zakariyya”—to this topic; whoever wishes may consult it. From a juridical standpoint, we are not concerned with proving one view or the other. It is immaterial to us whether the noble head is in this mosque or that; indeed, even if we were certain that it is not present in either mosque, the mere existence of a symbolic grave in them is sufficient to constitute a violation, for the rulings of the purified sharia are based on outward appearances, not on hidden realities, as is well known. Statements from some scholars that follow will confirm this. The violation is especially grave when the tomb lies along the qibla wall of a mosque, as is the case in the mosque of Aleppo—yet none of its scholars object to it! Be aware that the objection is not removed by the grave’s being enclosed within a wooden screen (maqsurah), as the authors of the pamphlet claim. In any event, it remains visible and is sought out by the general public—and even by some who regard themselves as the elite—for acts that should be directed exclusively to Allah, such as facing toward it in prayer and seeking its aid instead of turning to Allah, blessed and exalted be He. The visibility of the grave is therefore the root of the prohibition, as we shall quote from al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him. In short, the claim made by those we have mentioned—that the grave of Yahya, peace be upon him, has been inside the Umayyad Mosque since the Companions and others first entered Damascus, and that none of them objected to it—is sheer fabrication.