Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 1390
sahih

Narrated `Aisha:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in his fatal illness said, "Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians, for they built the places of worship at the graves of their prophets." And if that had not been the case, then the Prophet's grave would have been made prominent before the people. So (the Prophet (ﷺ) ) was afraid, or the people were afraid that his grave might be taken as a place for worship.

حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ هِلاَلٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي مَرَضِهِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَقُمْ مِنْهُ ‏

‏ لَعَنَ اللَّهُ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى، اتَّخَذُوا قُبُورَ أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ مَسَاجِدَ ‏

‏‏.‏ لَوْلاَ ذَلِكَ أُبْرِزَ قَبْرُهُ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ خَشِيَ أَوْ خُشِيَ أَنَّ يُتَّخَذَ مَسْجِدًا‏.‏ وَعَنْ هِلاَلٍ قَالَ كَنَّانِي عُرْوَةُ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ لِي‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 23, Hadith 142
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 23, Hadith 472 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Graves and cemeteries are places for contemplation, to remind us of the Hereafter and help us realise how trivial this life is, and not to manifest our pride in the deceased. The Sunnah clarified to us the rulings of graves, and that they should be constructed in a way that reflects the seriousness of death. It directed us to take a lesson from it, and realise that this life is mortal, and a man will have nothing left after it, except Allah’s mercy and his good deeds. In this hadeeth, the Taab’iee, Sufyaan al-Tammaar, reports that he saw the grave of the Prophet ﷺ humped i.e., it is raised above the ground, and not levelled. The humping method means the top of grave is the narrowest point of the grave and the most spacious point is in the bottom such like a pyramid or the camel hump. This is not intended to elevate it so high above the ground, but to raise it a bit over the ground so people can recognise that it is a grave,and therefore, do not sit or step on it. This hadeeth does not contradict the hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim wherein the Prophet ﷺ ordered ‘Alee ibn AbeeTaalib(may Allah be pleased with him) to leave not a high grave unlevelled, because the high grave intended in this hadeeth is that which has a structure made over it, until becomes higher. As for the graves on which people put sand, stones, and pebbles, these are not applicable, because people do it so others can recognise that it is a grave and do not step on it. The order of levelling high graves is given because such construction has no benefit. Thus, we are ordered to level high graves so they can conform to the requirements ofreligion. .
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