He also forbade anyone to face a grave while praying, so that he would not imitate the polytheists who prostrate themselves before graves. In the Ṣaḥīḥ it is related that he said:

“Do not sit upon graves, and do not pray toward them.”

There are many similar narrations, all of which serve to safeguard pure monotheism for Allah, Lord of the worlds—the very monotheism for which He sent down His Books and dispatched His messengers.

How far removed this is from the conduct of those who paint images of created beings inside churches, exalt them, and seek the intercession of the figures whose likenesses they have fashioned! Was not the origin of idol-worship among the children of Adam—from the era of Noah, peace be upon him—nothing other than this?

Directing prayer toward the sun, the moon, and the stars, and prostrating in their direction, is merely a gateway that leads to worshipping them outright. No prophet ever commanded the making of images, the seeking of intercession through their subjects, or prostration toward the sun, the moon, or the stars. Even if it is reported that a prophet once fashioned an image for a valid benefit, such matters belong to those rulings in which the revealed laws may legitimately differ.