Prophets buried around the Ka'ba in Masjid al-Haram

Prophets buried around the Ka'ba in Masjid al-Haram

Firstly, let’s see what the Qur’an mentions about building a Masjid over a grave:

“Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that there can be no doubt about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they dispute among themselves as to their affair. (Some) said, "Construct a building over them": Their Lord knows best about them: those who prevailed over their affair said, "Let us surely build a Masjid/Mosque over them.” (18:21)

Imam al-Nawawi in Sharh Sahih Muslim said al-Shafiʿi and the Jumhur or vast majority hold that it is disliked to build tombs over the graves and to whitewash them. Al-Isnawi as quoted by al-Shirwani and al-Shirbini excepted the graves of Prophets, Ulema, and the Salihin or righteous Muslims, from this ruling. In other words, they held as permissible the building of superstructures over the graves of those considered pious. This hukm is found in other than the Shafiʿi Madhhab. Further, to be precise, al-Shafiʿi and the Jumhur hold that the above is "preferably disliked" (makruh tanzihi), not prohibitively disliked (even if such distinction is not formally made in other than the Hanafi School).




Questions

What is the status of the following Hadiths?

1. “Whenever a Nabi would leave his nation, he would go to the Ka’bah to worship Allah and certainly there are 300 graves of Ambiya around the Ka’bah”

2. “The grave of Hud, Salih and Shu’ayb (‘alayhimus salam) are in the Haram”

3. “When a nation was destroyed, the Nabi went to Makkah to worship Allah Ta’ala until he passed away. The grave of Hud is between the Hajarul Aswad and the well of Zam Zam”



Answers

1) This narration is recorded in Kitabul Athar of Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan Ash Shaybani (rahimahullah) as the statement of the Tab’ut Tabi’i Salim ibn ‘Ajlan Al Aftas (rahimahullah), through a reliable chain. (Kitabul Athar, Hadith: 266)

2) This narration is also recorded in Kitabul Athar of Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan Ash Shaybani (rahimahullah) as the statement of ‘Ata ibn As Saib (rahimahullah), a Tabi’i through a suitable chain. (Kitabul Athar, Hadith: 267)

3) Imam Hakim (rahimahullah) has recorded this as the statement of ‘Abdur Rahman ibn Sabit (rahimahullah), a Tabi’i. (Mustadrak Hakim, vol. 2 pg. 563/564)



These narrations may be quoted as reported, i.e. attributed to the forenamed and not to Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).



According to numerous narrations, there are graves of several Prophets inside Masjid-ul-Haram in Makkah. For example:

إن حول الكعبة لقبور ثلثمائة نبي، وإن ما بين الركن اليماني إلى الركن الأسود لقبور سبعين نبيا صلوات الله عليهم أجمعين، وكل نبي من الأنبياء إذا كذبه قومه خرج من بين أظهرهم فأتى الكعبة فعبد الله حتى يموت.

"Verily around the Ka`ba are 300 Prophets and verily what is between the Yemeni Corner to the Black Stone’s Corner are the graves of 70 prophets, Allah’s blessings upon them all, and ever prophet from the prophets when their people disbelieved and rejected them left from among them and came to the Ka`ba and then worshipped Allah until they died.”

Ref: Sharaf al-Mustafa (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) an-Nisapuri.

وجاء «إن بين المقام والركن وزمزم قبر تسعة وتسعين نبيا» ، وجاء «إن حول الكعبة لقبور ثلاثمائة نبي، وإن ما بين الركن اليماني إلى الركن الأسود لقبور سبعين نبيا، وكل نبي من الأنبياء إذا كذبه قومه خرج من بين أظهرهم وأتى مكة يعبد الله عز وجل بها حتى يموت» وجاء «ما بين الركن اليماني والحجر الأسود روضة من رياض الجنة، وإن قبر هود وصالح وشعيب وإسمعيل في تلك البقعة»

وأخرج الأزرقي والبيهقي من طريق عبد الرحمن بن سابط عن عبدالله بن ضمرة السلولي قال: ما بين المقام إلى الركن إلى بئر زمزم إلى الحجر قبر تسعة وتسعين- وفي بعض المصادر:سبعة وسبعين نبيًا، جاءوا حاجين فماتوا فقبروا هنالك.

حدثني مهدي بن أبي المهدي، قال: حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن عبد الله مولى بني هاشم، عن حماد بن سلمة، عن عطاء بن السائب، عن محمد بن سابط، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال: «كان النبي من الأنبياء إذا هلكت أمته لحق بمكة فيتعبد فيها النبي، ومن معه حتى يموت فيه، فمات بها نوح، وهود، وصالح، وشعيب، وقبورهم بين زمزم والحجر»

حَدَّثَنِي جَدِّي ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مَوْلَى بَنِي هَاشِمٍ ، عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ السَّائِبِ ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سَابِطٍ ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، قَالَ : " كَانَ النَّبِيُّ مِنَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ إِذَا هَلَكَتْ أُمَّتُهُ ، لَحِقَ بِمَكَّةَ ، فَيَتَعَبَّدُ فِيهَا النَّبِيُّ ، وَمَنْ مَعَهُ ، حَتَّى يَمُوتَ ، فَمَاتَ بِهَا نُوحٌ ، وَهُودٌ ، وَصَالِحٌ ، وَشُعَيْبٌ ، وَقُبُورُهُمْ بَيْنَ زَمْزَمَ ، وَالْحَجَرِ "

-------

Abdullah bin Damrah (a tabi’i) said: “What is between the Maqam and the Yamani Corner to the Well of ZamZam to the [Black] Stone are the grave of 99 (and in some versions 77) prophets, who came making pilgrimage and died and were buried there.”
It is also narrated via reliable narrators from Muhammad bin Samit: “There have been Prophets, when their Ummat were destroyed, they came to Makkah. They and those with them, engaged themselves in `ibaadat there till they died. Thus Sayyiduna Nuh, Sayyiduna Hud, Sayyiduna Salih, and Sayyiduna Shu`ayb got their wafaat in (Makkah) and their graves are found between Zamzam and Hajar. ”

Ref : Akhbar Makkah (Azraqi) 1/121 -No 83 of the book version , al-Sirah al-Halabiyya of Nur al-Din al-Halabi, and Tafseer Al-Qurtubi, Vol 2 pg 401

NOTE: The following scholars have mentioned this narration in different words:

1. Imam At-Tabari (310 Hijri) in Tafseer-ut-Tabari Vol 1 pg 476.

2. Ibn Asakir (571 Hijri) in Tareekh Dimashq Vol 74 pg 90.

3. Imam Jalaluddeen Suyuti (911 Hijri) in Tafseer Ad-Durr Al-Manthoor Vol 1 pg 702.

وأخرج الأزرقي عن مقاتل قال: في المسجد الحرام بين زمزم والركن قبر سبعين نبيًا، منهم هود وصالح وإسمعيل، وقبر آدم وإبراهيم وإسحاق ويعقوب ويوسف في بيت المقدس.

`Uthman said: Muqatil has informed me: ” In Masjid-ul-Haram, between Zamzam and ar-Rukn, there are seventy [70] Prophets’ graves. Amid, there are graves of Sayyiduna Hud, Sayyiduna Salih, Sayyiduna Isma`il. And the graves of Sayyiduna Adam, Sayyiduna Ibrahim, Sayyiduna Ishaq, Sayyiduna Ya`qub and Sayyiduna Yusuf are found in Bayt-ul-Maqdis. ”

Ref : Akhbar Makkah (Azraqi) 1/129 -No 102 and https://shamela.ws/book/9621/120
Tafseer Ad-Durr Al-Manthoor Vol 1 pg 702

Concerning this narration, the Muhaqqiq `Abd-ul-Malik says: Its chain of narration is correct.
Ref: Akhbar Makkah (Azraqi) – Footnote – Vol 1 pg 129

The great Muhaddith, Imam `Abdur Razzaq (211 Hijri) has opened a chapter specially on the subject [Mention of those who Have been Buried between ar-Rukn and al-Maqam] in Musannaf `Abdur Razzaq Vol 5 pg 119 and then in this chapter, he has mentioned the following three narrations:

Narrated by Ibn Jareeh that Sayyiduna Ka`ab has said: “Sayyiduna Isma`il was buried between Zamzam, Ar-Rukn and Al-Maqam.”

Ref: Musannaf `Abdur Razzaq 5/119 -No 9128
Akhbar Makkah (Fakihi) Vol 2 pg 34

Sayyiduna `Abdullah ibn Damrah says: “We were performing Tawaaf with Ibn Sabit till we arrived between Ar-Rukn and Al-Maqam, and he mentioned so and so, till he said that the grave of Sayyiduna Isma`il is found there. I think he mentioned around 90 Prophets or 70.”

Ref: Musannaf `Abdur-Razzaq 5/120 -No 9129
Akhbar Makkah (Fakihiy) Vol 2 pg 34

جاء في تاريخ الزهري أنه سمع ابن الزبير على المنبر يقول: إن هذا المحدودب قبور عذارى بنات إسماعيل عليه السلام، يعني مما يلي الركن الشامي من المسجد الحرام».

Zuhayr says: I have heard Sayyiduna `Abdullah ibn Zubayr ” saying: ” Certainly these humps are the graves of the virgin daughters of Sayyiduna Isma`il, and this is the high place opposite to the door of “Banou Sahm” in the direction of Ar-Rukn. “

Ref: Musannaf `Abdur-Razzaq 5/120 – No 9130

Imam Abu Hanifah says that Sayyiduna Salim told him: Around Ka`aba, there are graves of 300 Prophets.

Ref: Kitab-ul-Athar – pg 117 – No 545

Imam Muhammad has said:

Imam Abu Hanifah has informed us that Sayyiduna `Atwa ibn Sa`ib has said: “The graves of Sayyiduna Hud, Sayyiduna Salih and Sayyiduna Shu`ayb are found in Masjid ul-Haram.”

Ref: Al-Athar (Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan) 2/292 – No 266

Imam Ibn Ishaq (151 Hijri) writes:

Sa`eed ibn Harb says: I saw Sayyiduna `Abdullah ibn Zubayr removing the foundations of Ka`abah that were placed by Sayyiduna Ibraheem. They saw a yellow grave at Hateem. So Ibn Zubayr said: ” This is the grave of Isma`il, and he buried it. “

Ref: Seerah Ibn Ishaq Vol 1 pg 153

Imam Ibn Hisham (183 Hijri) writes:

Ibn Ishaq said: The age of Sayyiduna Isma`il that they have mentioned, was 130 years, when he passed away, may Allah’s mercy and blessings be upon him. He was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem) along with his mother Hajar, may Allah’s blessings be upon them.

Ref : Seerah Ibn Hisham Vol 1 pg 42

Imam Ibn Sa`ad (230 Hijri) writes: “Sayyiduna Isma`il passed away after his father, and he was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem) which is found near Ka`abah, along with his mother Hajar .”

Ref: Tabaqat Ibn Sa`ad pg 35

Ibn Qutaybah (276 Hijri) says : “Sayyiduna Isma`il remained alive for almost 137 years, and he was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem), and his mother Hajar has also been buried in it.”

Ref: Al-Ma`arif pg 34

Imam At-Tabari, (310 Hijri) writes about Sayyiduna Isma`il: “He was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem), near the grave of his mother Hajar.”

Ref: Tareekh At-Tabari Vol 1 pg 314

Imam Ibn Jawzi (597 Hijri) has opened a chapter specially on the subject [Chapter: Mention of great personalities that have been buried in Haram] in his book Mutheer-ul-Gharam Vol 2 pg 216 and then in this chapter, he wrote several narrations concerning numerous Prophets being buried in Masjid-ul-Haram.

In another book, Imam Ibn Jawzi (597 Hijri) writes that the scholars of Siyar have said: “Sayyiduna Isma`il was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem), near the grave of his mother Hajar.”

Ref: Al-Muntazam Vol 1 pg 305.

Hafiz Dhahabi (748 Hijri) says :

Ibn Ishaq said: They have mentioned that the age of Sayyiduna Isma`il was 130 years, and he was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem) along with his mother Hajar.

Ref : Tareekh-ul-lslam (Dhahabi ) Vol 2 pg 20

Hafiz Ibn Katheer (774 Hijri) writes:

Sayyiduna Isma`il, the Prophet of Allah was buried in Al-Hijr (Hateem), along with his mother Hajar.

Ref: Al-Bidayah wa ‘n-Nihayah Vol 1 pg 276

Another place, Hafiz Ibn Katheer (774 Hijri) writes:

Concerning the grave of (Sayyiduna Nuh), Ibn Jareer and Al-Azraqi have narrated from `Abdur Rahman ibn Sabit or other Tabi`een in a “mursal” way that the grave of Sayyiduna Nouh is found in Masjid-ul-Haram. And this is the most solid andproved narration…

Ref: Al-Bidayah wa ‘n-Nihayah Vol 1 pg 185

Ibn Khaldun (808 Hijri) writes concerning Sayyiduna Isma`il:

Ibn `Asakir has narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn `Abbas (r) that he said: There are two graves in Masjid-ul-Haram in which there are nobody except them inside: The grave of Sayyiduna Isma`il and that of Sayyiduna Shu`ayb. The grave of Sayyiduna Isma`il is found in Al-Hijr (Hateem) and that of Sayyiduna Shu`ayb is found opposite to Hajar al-Aswad.

NOTE: Imam Qurtubi (671 Hijri) has mentioned this narration in Al-Jami` li Ahkam-il-Qur’an Vol 2 pg 401,402 and Imam Alusi Baghdadi (1270 Hijri) in Ruh-ul-Ma`ani Vol 9 pg 8.

The Grave of a Sahabi Inside Masjid ul-Haram

Hafiz Ibn Hajar `Asqalani (852 Hijri) writes concerning the Sahabi, Sayyiduna `Abdur Rahman ibn `Uthman (r):

He was killed along with Sayyiduna `Abdullah ibn Zubayr (r) and he was buried in Hazwarah. Then upon the extension of Masjid-ul-Haram, his grave was included in Masjid-ul-Haram.

Ref: Fath-ul-Qadeer Vol 2 pg 321

Ref: Tahdheeb-ut-Tahdheeb Vol 6 pg 227
Al-Isabah Vol 4 pg 171

NOTE: This has also been mentioned by:

1. Ibn `Asakir (571 Hijri) in Tareekh Dimashq Vol 35 pg 100.

2. Hafiz Dhahabi (student of Ibn Taymiyyah) in Tahdheeb-ul-Kamal Vol 6 pg 19.



Graves of Seventy Prophets in Masjid al-Khayf

It is established from the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ: "In the Mosque of al-Khayf there is the qabr of seventy Prophets." Narrated from Ibn ʿUmar by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir and al-Bazzar with a chain of trustworthy narrators according to al-Haythami in Majmaʿ al-Zawa'id (#5769, #5965).Ref : Majma`-uz-Zawaid 3/640 No 5769

Ref : Majma`-uz-Zawaid 3/640 No 5769
Akhbar Makkah (Fakihi) 4/266 – No 2594
Kashf-ul-Asrar 2/48 -No 1177
Al-Mu`jam Al-Kabeer of Tabarani No 13343
Mukhtasar Zawaid Bazzar 1/476 -No 813
Fayd-ul-Kabeer No 5965
Al-Matalib-ul-`Aliyah 7/175 – No 1332

Concerning this Hadith,

1. Hafiz Ibn Hajar `Asqalani (852 Hijri) says: It has an authentic chain of narration.

Ref: Mukhtasar Zawaid Bazzar Vol 1 pg 476

2. Imam Al-Haythami (807 Hijri) says:

Imam Bazzar has narrated it and its narrators are reliable.

Ref: Majma`-uz-Zawaid Vol 3 pg 640

3. The Muhaqqiq `Abd-ul-Malik (of Riyad, Saudi Arabia) says:

Its chain of narration is authentic.

Ref: Akhbar Makkah (Fakihi) – Footnote – Vol 4 pg 266

4. The Muhaqqiq Sa`ad ibn Nasir (of Riyad, Saudi Arabia) says:

Imam Al-Haythami has mentioned it in Al-Majma`(3/300) and he said: ” Imam Bazzar has narrated it and its narrators are reliable. ” And Imam Al-Busayri has said in Mukhtasar Al-Ittihaf (2/347) : “Imam Abu Ya`la, and Imam Bazzar, have narrated it with an authentic chain of narration. ” And it is like he said.

Ref : Al-Matalib-ul-`Aliyyah – Footnote – Vol 7 Vol 175

It must be noted that Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has presented this Hadith as virtue for Masjid-ul-Khayf. Thus we note that several `Ulama (scholars) have opened special chapters to mention this Hadeeth in their books. When we study the headings (Tarjamat ul-baab) that the scholars gave to the chapter, we find that their belief (`Aqeedah) is alike as that of today’s Ahl-us-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama`ah.

Here we present the writings of two renowned scholars:
Imam Fakihi (272 Hijri) has opened a chapter on the subject [Mention of Masjid al-Khayf, Its Virtue and the Virtue of performing Prayers in it] in his book Akhbar Makkah Vol 4 pg 266 and then in this chapter, he has mentioned the Hadith concerning seventy Prophets being buried in Masjid-ul-Khayf. Hafiz Ibn Hajr `Asqalani (852 Hijri) has opened a chapter on the subject [Chapter : Virtue of Masjid-ul-Khayf] in his book Al-Matalib-ul-`Aliyyah Vol 7 pg 175′ and then in this chapter he has mentioned the Hadith concerning seventy Prophets being buried in Masjid-ul-Khayf.

There is no doubt that Rasoulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as well as the Sahabah, have performed Salah in Masjid-ul-Khayf. Still today, this mosque exists and the Muslims, perform Salah in it.

But the questions that arise for modern Salafis are:

> Why Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) did not give the order to pull down Masjid-ul-Khayf ?

On the contrary Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)personally has performed Salah there. Do the Salafis have the guts to say that Rasoulullah and his Sahaaba have encouraged “Grave-worshipping”?



> Why did the Saudis spend millions of Riyal to renovate and decorate Masjid-ul-Khayf ? Is this not Shirk to do such things according to their `aqeedah‘ ?



The above is mainly taken from:

https://sunnah.org/2016/02/14/graves-of-allahs-prophets-in-masjid-al-haram/

https://hadithanswers.com/300-ambiya-buried-around-the-kabah/

https://www.livingislam.org/n/tsvv_e.html