that had reached them concerning al-Rashīd: that he went to that place and began apologizing to its occupant for what had taken place between him and ‘Alī’s descendants. Nothing can be established on the basis of such a story, for al-Rashīd himself had no knowledge of the matter. Perhaps, if this story about him is authentic, he had merely been told this, just as others had.

Most knowledgeable authorities say that ‘Alī was buried in the governor’s palace in Kufa or nearby. This accords with the Sunnah, for transporting a deceased person from Kufa to a distant place possessing no special merit is not prescribed. It should therefore not be supposed that ‘Alī’s family—may Allah be pleased with him—did this to him. Nor should it be supposed that this remained unknown to his household and the Muslims for three hundred years, until some ignorant non-Arabs driven by their desires revealed it.

Likewise, it has been said that the “grave of Mu‘āwiyah” outside Damascus is not his grave, and that his grave is by the wall of the mosque of Damascus, at what is said to be the “grave of Hūd.” The underlying problem is that most accounts concerning these graves and shrines are confused and fabricated. Reliable knowledge can scarcely be obtained about any but a few of them, and only after painstaking investigation.

This is because identifying them and building mosques over them are not part of Islamic law. Nor does this fall within the scope of the Reminder that Allah has undertaken to preserve, as He says:

“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and We will surely preserve it.”

On the contrary, a prohibition has been issued by