Saudis want to remove the Prophet Mohamed’s body (SAW)

[Talktalk]

Saudis risk new Muslim division with proposal to move Mohamed’s tomb

One of Islam’s most revered holy sites – the tomb of the Prophet Mohamed – could be destroyed and his body removed to an anonymous grave under plans which threaten to spark discord across the Muslim world.

The controversial proposals are part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic which has been circulated among the supervisors of al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, where the remains of the Prophet are housed under the Green Dome, visited by millions of pilgrims and venerated as Islam’s second-holiest site. The formal custodian of the mosque is Saudi Arabia’s ageing monarch King Abdullah.

The plans, brought to light by another Saudi academic who has exposed and criticised the destruction of holy places and artefacts in Mecca – the holiest site in the Muslim world – call for the destruction of chambers around the Prophet’s grave which are particularly venerated by Shia Muslims.

The 61-page document also calls for the removal of Mohamed’s remains to the nearby al-Baqi cemetery, where they would be interred anonymously.

There is no suggestion that any decision has been taken to act upon the plans. The Saudi government has in the past insisted that it treats any changes to Islam’s holiest sites with “the utmost seriousness”.

But such is the importance of the mosque to both Sunni and Shia Muslims that Dr Irfan al-Alawi warned that any attempt to carry out the work could spark unrest. It also runs the risk of inflaming sectarian tensions between the two branches of Islam, already running perilously high due to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Hardline Saudi clerics have long preached that the country’s strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam – an offshoot of the Sunni tradition – prohibits the worship of any object or “saint”, a practice considered “shirq” or idolatrous.

Dr Alawi, director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told The Independent: “People visit the chambers, which are the rooms where the Prophet’s family lived, and turn towards the burial chamber to pray.

“Now they want to prevent pilgrims from attending and venerating the tomb because they believe this is shirq, or idolatry. But the only way they can stop people visiting the Prophet is to get him out and into the cemetery.”

For centuries Muslim pilgrims have made their way to Mecca in order to visit the Kaaba – a black granite cubed building said to be built by Abraham, around which al-Masjid al-Haram, or the Grand Mosque, is built, and towards which every Muslim faces when they pray.

This pilgrimage, or hajj, is a religious duty that has to be carried out at least once in a lifetime.

Many go on to make their way to the nearby city of Medina to pay their respects at the Prophet’s tomb.

Al-Nabawi mosque around the tomb has been expanded by generations of Arabian rulers, particularly the Ottomans. It includes hand-painted calligraphy documenting details of the Prophet’s life and his family. Dr Alawi said the plans also call for these to be destroyed as well as the Green Dome which covers the Prophet’s tomb.

The Prophet is venerated by both branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia. The strict Wahhabi sect is a branch of the Sunni faith, however, and removing the Prophet could further inflame tensions between the two groups .

The current  crisis in Iraq has been blamed on the Shia former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s sectarianism, which alienated the Sunni, leading to the uprising. Isis, also known as Islamic State, which holds swathes of Iraq and Syria, and which murdered the American journalist James Foley, is a Sunni organisation.

Mainstream Sunni Muslims would be just as aghast at any desecration of the tomb as the Shia, Dr Alawi said.

The Independent has previously revealed how the multibillion-pound expansion of the Grand Mosque has, according to the Washington-based Gulf Institute, led to the destruction of up to 95 per cent of Mecca’s millennium-old buildings. They have been replaced with luxury  hotels, apartments and  shopping malls.

King Abdullah has appointed the prominent Wahhabi cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque, Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, to oversee the expansion project – necessary to cope with the huge number of pilgrims who now visit each year.

Dr Alawi says the consultation document for the al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, by the leading Saudi academic Dr Ali bin Abdulaziz al-Shabal of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, has been circulated to the Committee of the Presidency of the Two Mosques.

Several pages of the consultation document have just been published in the presidency’s journal. They call for the destruction of the rooms surrounding the tomb – used by the Prophet’s wives and daughters, and venerated by the Shia because of their association with his youngest daughter, Fatima.

The document also calls for the Green Dome, which covers the tomb and these living quarters, to be removed, and the ultimate removal of the Prophet’s body to a nearby cemetery.

The al-Baqi cemetery already contains the bodies of many of the Prophet’s family, including his father who was removed there in the 1970s, Dr Alawi said. In 1924 all the grave markers were removed, so pilgrims would not know who was buried there, and so be unable to pray to them.

“The Prophet would be anonymous,” Dr  Alawi added. “Everything around the Prophet’s mosque has already been destroyed. It is surrounded by bulldozers. Once they’ve removed everything they can move towards the mosque. The imam is likely to say there is a need to expand the mosque and do it that way, while the world’s eyes are on Iraq and Syria. The Prophet Mohamed’s grave is venerated by the mainstream Sunni, who would never do it. It is just as important for the Shia too, who venerate the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima.

“I’m sure there will be shock across the Muslim world at these revelations. It will cause outrage.”

The Independent was unable to contact the Saudi Arabian embassy, but it said in a statement last year: “The development of the Holy Mosque of Makkah al-Mukarramah [Mecca] is an extremely important subject and one which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as custodian of the two holy mosques, takes with the utmost seriousness. This role is at the heart of the principles upon which Saudi Arabia is founded.”

[Talktalk]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 05120.html

[Talktalk]

Removing the Prophet Mohamed’s body (SAW) to an anonymous grave


I am simply shocked

[Basra-]

please I doubt it was ever preserved arabs are incapable of thinking ahead.

[DR-YALAXOOW]

Wahhabis are enamy of the prophet muhamed PUH.. this sect should be stopped by any means.. wahaabis is turning to be whole another religion.. they inovate almost daily and Saudi arabia should be blamed..

[Hodan94]

why would they want to even move the prophet saw grave is beyond me.

lets see how they like it if we fiddled with the Saudi founder grave. these ppl have no morals whatsoever with the cash they have they still haven't got a brain.

[Cherine]

What do you expect from bedouin ex goatherders?

[sconosciuto]

why would they want to even move the prophet saw grave is beyond me.

Is it haram to move the graves of the prophet (pbuh), Sahaba and other Muslim figures?

[grandpakhalif]

This article if true is unacceptable, the Prophet (SAW) was specifically buried in Aisha's room for a reason, I trust that this will NOT happen.

[Machiavelli2]

You were rightfully arguing with an atheist here that he Koran says we have to obey our prophet pbuh, what is wrong with his grave in Medina? It is where the Sahaba and his family has chosen him to be buried. Or, is it better to demolish it and built a hotel tower like the one over-looking the Kacba after all these Islamic heritage places were demolished? You Wahabis lost the plot.

[Cherine]

why would they want to even move the prophet saw grave is beyond me.

lets see how they like it if we fiddled with the Saudi founder grave. these ppl have no morals whatsoever with the cash they have they still haven't got a brain.

You've surprised me there Hodan. I used to think you were a blonde because of your funny gaffes lol, but you're actually intelligent.

[Shirib]

This article is BS, the independent is turning into a tabloid with their sensational journalism

[FAH1223]

They run these every year before hajj.

[Machiavelli2]

This issue has been a hot topic for Saudi scholars in the past and the present and the majority of them will like the grave removed and the prophet pbuh buried in unmarked grave in the general cemetery, but the Saudi government are wary of the sensitivities and the reaction of global Muslims.



Why is the Prophet’s grave in his mosque even though it is forbidden to take graves as places of worship?

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The hadeeth says, “May Allaah curse the Jews, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship”. So how come the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is inside his mosque in Madeenah?.


Praise be to Allaah.

The scholars have discussed this issue, in the past and more recently, and they refuted those who quote the fact that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is inside his mosque as evidence that it is permissible to take graves as places of worship, or to include graves in mosques. We will quote the fatwas of some of our prominent scholars, which discuss in detail the matter raised in the question.

1 – Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

There is a specious argument put forward by those who worship graves, namely the fact that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is in his mosque. The answer to that is that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did not bury him in his mosque, rather they buried him in the house of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her). When al-Waleed ibn ‘Abd al-Malik expanded the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at the end of the first century, he incorporated the room into the mosque, but he did wrong thereby, and some of the scholars denounced him for that, but he believed that there was nothing wrong with it for the sake of expanding the mosque.

It is not permissible for a Muslim to take that as evidence that mosques may be built over graves, or that people may be buried inside mosques, because that goes against the saheeh ahaadeeth, and because it is a means that may lead to shirk by associating the occupants of the graves in worship with Allaah. End quote.

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 5/388, 389.

2 – Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on praying in a mosque in which there is a grave.

He replied:

Praying in a mosque in which there is a grave falls into two categories:

(i) Either the grave was there before the mosque, and the mosque was built over the grave. It is essential to shun this mosque and not pray therein, and the one who built it must knock it down; if he does not do so, then the Muslim authorities must knock it down.

(ii) Or the mosque was there before the grave, and the deceased was buried after the mosque was built. In the case the grave must be dug up, and the remains taken out and buried with the people (in the graveyard).

As for praying in such a mosque, it is permissible so long as the grave is not in front of the worshipper, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying in the direction of graves.

With regard to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which is incorporated into his mosque, it is well known that the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was built before his death, and was not built over his grave. It is also well known that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not buried in the mosque, rather he was buried in his house which was separate from the mosque. At the time of al-Waleed ibn ‘Abd al-Malik he wrote to his governor in Madeenah, who was ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez, in 88 AH, ordering him to dismantle the Prophet’s Mosque and add to it the rooms of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). ‘Umar gathered the prominent people and fuqaha’, and read the letter of the caliph al-Waleed to them. That caused them distress, and they said: “Leave it as it is, that is better.” And it was narrated that Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib denounced the incorporation of ‘Aa’ishah’s room into the mosque, as if he feared that the grave would be taken as a place of worship.

Umar wrote a letter to that effect to al-Waleed, and al-Waleed sent word to him ordering him to carry out his instructions, so ‘Umar had no other choice. So you see that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not placed in the mosque, and the mosque was not built over it, so there are no grounds for those who try to quote this as evidence that people may be buried inside mosques or that mosques may be built over graves.

It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May the curse of Allaah be upon the Jews and the Christians; they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” He said that as he was dying, as a warning to his ummah against doing what they did. When Umm Salamah told him of a church that she had seen in Ethiopia and the images therein, he said: “Those people, if a righteous man among them died, they would build a place of worship over his grave. They are the most evil of people before Allaah.” And it was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Among the most evil of people upon whom the Hour will come when they are still alive are those who take graves as places of worship.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad with a jayyid isnaad.

The believer should not accept to follow the ways of the Jews and the Christians, or to be among the most evil of people.

http://islamqa.info/en/65944

[jamal9]

the pple worship that grave and that is shirk, so it is better if they move it to an anonymous spot in the graveyard on the left side of that mosque where other sahaabas are burried.