that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, while serving as al-Walīd’s deputy over Medina in 91 AH, razed the mosque and rebuilt it with engraved stone, roofed it with teakwood and gold leaf, tore down the apartments of the Prophet’s wives—Allah bless him and grant him peace—incorporated them into the mosque, and brought the grave inside.

From what we have presented it is plain that the noble grave was only brought into the Prophet’s Mosque when no Companion remained in Medina, and that this ran contrary to the purpose they had in mind when they buried him in his apartment—Allah bless him and grant him peace. Therefore, once a Muslim has come to know this fact, he may not cite as evidence what took place after the time of the Companions, for it conflicts with the authentic hadiths and with the understanding that the Companions and the leading scholars derived from them, as has already been shown. It also contradicts the practice of ʿUmar and ʿUthmān, who both enlarged the mosque without bringing the grave into it.

For this reason we state categorically that al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik—may Allah pardon him—erred in what he did; and even if he had been compelled to expand the mosque, he was