In some countries we see some people,
when they need to answer the call of nature, going into graveyards or hopping over the
wall of the graveyard, and answering the call of nature even though they know that there
are Muslim graves there. What is the ruling on this action?
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly this is a reprehensible and offensive action that violates the
sanctity of the dead. The grave of a dead person is like the house of a living person. The
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) drew attention to the repulsive
nature of this action when he said: “If I were to walk on live coals or a sword, or
repair my shoes using my own feet, this would be better for me than walking on the grave
of a Muslim. There is no difference between answering the call of nature in the middle of
a graveyard or in the middle of the marketplace.” (Ibn Maajah). In al-Zawaa’id
it says that its isnaad is saheeh, and in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (63) it is classed
as Saheeh. “Or repair my shoes using my own feet” – this is something that
is extremely difficult and if it were possible it would be very painful indeed, but
despite all that it is still preferable to walking on the grave of a Muslim. “There
is no difference between answering the call of nature in the middle of a graveyard or in
the middle of the marketplace” – means that both actions are equally repulsive,
and whoever does one will not refrain from doing the other. And Allaah knows best.
