Thus, anyone who spends part of the endowment’s revenue on the shrine, takes another part to spend on purposes not provided for in its stipulations, and deprives the descendants included in those stipulations has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger and transgressed His limits concerning the obligation to pay the endowment’s proceeds to the founder’s descendants. He is unjust by the consensus of the Muslim imams who recognize the validity of endowments. This practice dates back to the time of the Companions and their Successors.

As for building shrines over graves and establishing endowments for them, this is a religious innovation. It did not exist in the time of the Companions, their Successors, or the generation following them—not even in the time of the four imams. The imams agree that building these shrines over graves is not prescribed, nor is supporting their construction through an endowment or otherwise, making vows to them, or remaining at them in worship. Nor does prayer or supplication there have any superiority over prayer and supplication in mosques free of graves. He must be informed that this contradicts the religion of Islam as necessarily known and agreed upon by the imams. If he does not recant, he must be called upon to repent. Indeed, the recognized imams have explicitly stated that building mosques over graves, such as this shrine and others like it, is forbidden.

This is because it is established in the two Sahīh collections that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

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

He was warning against what they had done. ‘Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “Were it not for that, his grave would have been left in the open, but he disliked the prospect of its being taken as a place of worship.”

It is also reported in Sahīh Muslim that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said five days before his death:

“Those before you used to take graves as places of worship. Beware, then: do not