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Is it true that a fatwa was issued permitting the plastering and building upon graves in Palestine and the 1948 villages, due to claims by the Israeli authorities denying their Islamic authenticity, in order to highlight them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The fundamental principle regarding graves is the prohibition of building upon them, except out of necessity. However, scholars have permitted building a fence around a cemetery or constructing upon it to protect it from aggression or to mark the place. Similarly, they have allowed the construction of a permanent burial chamber (فسقية) with brick and gypsum out of necessity, such as the need to protect it from being dug up by wild animals, washed away by floods, or plundered by thieves. In such cases, it is not to be demolished; rather, it may even be obligatory. Accordingly, it is permissible to raise graves to protect them from usurpation by Jews, from being desecrated, and from the violation of the sanctity of the deceased, because necessities permit prohibitions. Allah Almighty says: "And He has not placed upon you in religion any difficulty."

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

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