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What is the ruling on desecrating graves by turning them into paths for camels, cows, goats, and cars, and by building upon them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to desecrate a graveyard in any way as long as the remains of the dead are present therein, for the sanctity of the deceased is like the sanctity of the living. Therefore, it is not permissible to walk over it, or to make it into pathways, or to pray in it, or to incorporate it into people's dwellings.

An exception to this is if the occupants of the graveyard have turned into dust and no bodies remain. In this case, there is no harm in using it for farming or for houses.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade sitting on graves or walking over them, and relieving oneself among graves, due to the desecration this entails for a Muslim.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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