and wisdom is preserved. Matters relating to shrines, however, have not been preserved. Indeed, most graves over which mosques have been built are either of doubtful authenticity or certainly falsely attributed. Examples include the grave at Karak said to contain Noah; the one outside Damascus said to be the grave of Ubayy ibn Ka‘b; the one on the other side said to be the grave of Uways al-Qaranī; the graves there thought to belong to ‘Ā’ishah, Umm Salamah—the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—or Umm Habībah; the grave within Najaf attributed to ‘Alī; the shrine in Cairo said to stand over al-Husayn; the shrine in Aleppo; and other such shrines. All these attributions are false, by the agreement of the scholars.
As for the grave in Homs said to be “the grave of Khālid ibn al-Walīd,” the one in Dārayyā said to be the grave of Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī, and similar graves, their attributions are doubtful. We may know in general that someone died in a particular region, without establishing that a particular spot is the location of his grave. Examples include the grave attributed to Bilāl and others outside Damascus, the grave attributed to Fātimah in Medina, and similar cases.
Most people who accept these attributions have learned of them through a dream, an unreliable report, or some other means. The identity of some of those buried in these graves may indeed be certain, but none of these innovated rulings follows from that.
For this reason, the early generations would close off this avenue. When the Muslims conquered Tustar, they found there a bier bearing a body still intact, which they said was “Daniel”