—may Allah be pleased with them—who said:

“When death came upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he began placing a cloak of his over his face. Whenever he felt stifled, he uncovered it. While in that state, he said: ‘May Allah’s curse be upon the Jews and Christians: they took the graves of their prophets as places of prayer.’”

He was warning against what they had done.

In the two Sahīhs, Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“May Allah destroy the Jews and Christians: they took the graves of their prophets as places of prayer.”

Another wording reads:

“May Allah curse the Jews and Christians: they took the graves of their prophets as places of prayer.”

In the two Sahīhs, ‘Ā’ishah narrated:

“Umm Habībah and Umm Salamah mentioned a church they had seen in Abyssinia containing images. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘When a righteous man among those people died, they would build a place of prayer over his grave and make those images in it. Those are the worst of creation before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.’”

‘Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, the Mother of the Believers, to whom the Prophet’s chamber belonged, narrated the hadiths on this subject, as did other Companions, including Ibn ‘Abbās, Abū Hurayrah, Jundub, Ibn Mas‘ūd and others.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, as narrated by Ibn Mas‘ūd:

“Among the worst of people are those who are still alive when the Hour overtakes them, and those who take graves as places of prayer.”

Abū Hātim narrated it in his Sahīh, and Imam Ahmad in his Musnad.

In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, it is reported that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Do not make my grave a place of recurring observance. Send blessings upon me wherever you may be, for your blessings reach me.”

In Mālik’s Muwatta’, it is reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“O Allah, do not let my grave become an idol that is worshipped. Severe was