such as Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah. Some considered it defective because it was reported directly from a Successor without an intervening Companion, while the hadith master authenticated it (*).

In the two Sahīh collections, ‘Ā’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

“When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fell ill, one of his wives mentioned to him that she had seen a church in Abyssinia called Māriya. Umm Salama and Umm Habība had both been to Abyssinia, and they described its beauty and the images inside it. He raised his head and said: ‘When a righteous man among those people died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and make those images inside it. Those are the worst of creation in Allah’s sight.’”

Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cursed women who visit graves and those who establish places of worship over them and place lamps upon them.”

This was reported by the compilers of the Sunan collections, such as Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasā’ī and al-Tirmidhī. Al-Tirmidhī graded the hadith good; some copies read “authentic.”

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

“O Allah, do not make my grave an idol that is worshipped.”

In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, he is reported to have said:

“Do not make my grave a place of festivity, and do not make your homes graveyards.”

As for acts of worship in mosques, such as prayer, recitation, supplication and the like, Allah Most High has said:

“Who is more unjust than those who prevent Allah’s name from being mentioned in His mosques and strive for