Honoring the dead, specially some of the revered ones of a community, is one thing. But building places of worship over their graves and decorating it with the photos and statues of the dead is something that turns the grave into a place of worship. This has been the practice in many places around the world and still continues. Since such activities smacks of shirk / equating or revering someone like God, these are strictly forbidden in Islam.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has also warned against such construction and placing photos and statues of the dead beside the grave in there. This Hadith is mentioned in Sahi al-Bukhārī (Book 8: Prayers (Salat) / كتاب الصلاة / Chapter 54: To offer As-Salat (the prayer) in a church or in a temple etc. / باب الصَّلاَةِ فِي الْبِيعَةِ / as Hadith 434, given herein under:
Um Salama told Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about a church which she had seen in Ethiopia and which was called Mariya. She told him about the pictures which she had seen in it. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If any righteous pious man dies amongst them, they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it; they are the worst creatures in the sight of Allah."
Arabic Text:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدَةُ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ، ذَكَرَتْ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَنِيسَةً رَأَتْهَا بِأَرْضِ الْحَبَشَةِ يُقَالُ لَهَا مَارِيَةُ، فَذَكَرَتْ لَهُ مَا رَأَتْ فِيهَا مِنَ الصُّوَرِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أُولَئِكَ قَوْمٌ إِذَا مَاتَ فِيهِمُ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ ـ أَوِ الرَّجُلُ الصَّالِحُ ـ بَنَوْا عَلَى قَبْرِهِ مَسْجِدًا، وَصَوَّرُوا فِيهِ تِلْكَ الصُّوَرَ، أُولَئِكَ شِرَارُ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ".
In this hadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) warns against a practice where people build places of worship on the graves of the deceased and adorn those places with images. This practice, particularly the veneration of graves, is strongly discouraged in Islam, as it can lead to idolatry (shirk) or the glorification of the dead in a way that competes with the worship of Allah alone.
Context in Light of the Qur'an:
Prohibition of Idol Worship: The Qur'an clearly condemns any form of shirk (associating partners with Allah), which includes the worship of images or idols. This is a fundamental principle in Islam, as expressed in many verses. For example:
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:21-22): "O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous. He who made for you the earth a bed and the sky a canopy, and sent down from the sky rain and brought forth fruits as provision for you, so worship Allah alone and do not associate any partners with Him."
Surah An-Nisa (4:116): "Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills."
This verse underscores the importance of avoiding anything that might lead to associating partners with Allah, including the veneration of graves or idols.
Respect for the Dead Without Worshiping Them: In Islam, while it is encouraged to respect and pray for the deceased, the act of venerating graves or turning them into places of worship is forbidden. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) spoke against the deification of deceased individuals, which is a practice found in other religions.
The Qur'an speaks about the mistakes made by previous communities who worshiped the graves of righteous individuals.
Surah Al-Kahf (18:21): "And thus We made their case known, that they might know that the promise of Allah is truth and that there is no doubt about the Hour."
This verse is part of the story of the People of the Cave (Ashab al-Kahf), where some people mistakenly tried to build a structure around the cave as a place of worship for the righteous people who had been in the cave. The Qur'an refutes such practices and emphasizes that Allah alone should be worshiped.
Prohibition of Images: The practice of placing images in places of worship is also addressed in the hadith. Although the Qur'an does not explicitly forbid the creation of images, it does emphasize the prohibition of worshiping them.
Surah Al-A'raf (7:191-192): "Do you see those who take their gods as their own desires? Then have you seen the one who has taken as his god his own desires? Allah has sent no authority over him."
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) consistently warned against the creation of images that might lead people to worship them. This is why he condemned the placing of pictures in the places of worship as described in the hadith.
Summary of the Hadith in Context:
In this hadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) is expressing concern over the practice of turning graves into places of worship and the potential idolatry that could result from such actions. The Qur'an consistently calls for the exclusive worship of Allah alone, without any intermediaries or distractions such as images or idols. The Prophet’s condemnation in this hadith serves as a reminder to the Muslim community to avoid any practices that might resemble or lead to the mistakes made by previous peoples, where the graves of righteous individuals became centers of worship.
The hadith also serves as a cautionary message against venerating people after their death in a way that might lead others to view them as being worthy of worship. It reinforces the Islamic principle that Allah alone is worthy of worship, and anything that diverts attention from this ultimate truth, including the building of shrines or the use of images, is to be avoided. This aligns with the Qur'anic teaching that no one, no matter how righteous, should be deified or turned into an object of worship.
While the practice among the non-Muslims continues, it is extremely detestable to see following such practices in some Muslim countries, where huge shrines are built over the graves of the dead and even adorned with their pictures / paintings. Even at some places, the dead are buried inside the masjids which simply against teachings of Islam. And Muslims who do not really understand Islam throng these places and even commit acts that are tantamount to shirk. We must educate ourselves about such forms of acts that smack of idolatry and warn others from adopting such acts of worship.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our exclusive reference page Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about Morality for more etiquettes attributed to Prophet Muhammad.
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For Hadiths on the subject, please refer to our reference page: Collection of Hadiths attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about Sadaqah صدقة / Voluntary Charity
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Please refer to our reference page: Collection of Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about As Salat - Prayers
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Please refer to our reference page: Collection of Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about Warning and Cautions for more Hadiths on the subject
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Photo | Source of Hadith | Help taken from ChatGPT for expanding meaning of the Hadith
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