FIQH 4.68: MAKING HUMPS OVER GRAVES AND FLATTENING THEM
Jurists agree that it is permissible either to make a little hump over the grave or to flatten it. At-Tabari said: “I dislike it for a grave to be prepared in any way other than these two: it should be either leveled with the ground or raised with a hump over it, but no higher than one hand, as is the common practice among Muslims. Leveling the grave differs from flattening it completely. Jurists differ concerning which of these two methods is best. Al-Qadi ‘Iyad has reported from the major scholars that it is best to make a hump over the grave because Sufyan an-Nammar told him that he had seen the grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him, with a hump over it.” (Bukhari) This is the opinion of Abu Hanifah, Malik, Ahmad, al-Mazani, and many scholars of the Shafi’i school. Ash-Shafi’i’s opinion, however, is that because of the order of the Prophet, peace be upon him, leveling is best.
Fiqh 4.68 a: Placing a Distinguishing Mark on a Grave
It is permissible to place a mark, such as a stone or a piece of wood, over a grave so that it can be recognized. This is based on a hadith reported by Ibn Majah from Anas that the Prophet, peace be upon him, “placed a rock over ‘Uthman ibn Maz’eun’s grave so that it could be recognized.” In az-Zawa’id it is stated that its chain of narrators is sound. Abu Daw’ud reported it in the hadith of al-Muttalib ibn Abi Wada’ah which has the following words: “He carried a rock and placed it by the head side of the grave and said, ‘I want to mark my brother’s grave and then bury beside it whoever else of my family dies.”‘ This hadith indicates that it is preferable for relatives of the deceased to be buried in adjacent spots because it makes it easier for those who visit their graves to pray for them.
Fiqh 4.68 b: Taking Off Shoes in Cemeteries
Most scholars are of the opinion that it is permissible to wear shoes in a cemetery. Jarir ibn Hazim said: “I saw al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin walking with their shoes on in a cemetery.” Anas reported: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ‘When a servant of Allah is put into a grave and his companions leave, he can hear the sound of their sandals’.” (Reported by Bukhari, Muslim. Abu Daw’ud, and Nasa’i) The scholars deduce from this hadith that it is permissible to walk in a cemetery with one’s shoes on since the only way the dead would hear the sound of their sandals is when they were wearing them.
Ahmad disliked, however, wearing dyed shoes (Sibtiyah (Arabic), a type of shoes dyed with pods of a species of sant tree) in graveyards. This is based on a report by Abu Daw’ud, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah from Bushair, the freed slave of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said: “Once the Prophet, peace be upon him, noticed a man wearing shoes while walking in the cemetery. He said to him: ‘O you who are wearing the sihtiyyah (shoes). Woe to you. Take off your sihtivyah shoes.’ When the man recognized the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, he took them off and threw them away.”
Al-Khattabi said: “The order of the Prophet, peace be upon him, may indicate that he disliked this because of the people involved in them. The sihtiyyah shoes were worn by privileged people given to luxury. The Prophet, peace be upon him, liked those visiting the graveyards to be humble and unpretentious. Ahmad holds that wearing shoes is disliked only when done without any valid excuse. If there is a genuine reason for wearing shoes, such as, thoms or impurities, then one may keep one’s shoes on.
Source: Fiqh us Sunnah
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