The true structure of the grave of the honored Prophet

Fatwa no. 16296 Praise be to Allah, Alone, and Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad after whom there is no other.The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has viewed the letter submitted to his Eminence, the Grand Mufty from the delegate of the department of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, in Sharjah the United Arab Emirates, (Part No. 7; Page No. 359) and which was referred to the Committee of the Council of Senior Scholars in letter no. (1805) dated 17/4/1413 A.H. His Eminence asked the following question:Attached is an alleged photograph of Prophet Muhammad's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) grave which is widely distributed in the United Arab Emirates. We would appreciate it if you give us a Fatwa, message or advice which we can publish to raise public awareness on the consequences of this deception.

After examining the inquiries, the Committee answered as follows:Having investigated the matter, the Committee decided to write to the official in charge of the Affairs of Al-Masjid Al-Nabawy Al-Sharif. We received letter no. (690/1) dated 18/6/1414 A.H. which stated that the Committee examined the attached photograph and compared it to the real site. Their report is as follows: Comparing the Prophetic room to the one in the photograph, we conclude that the photograph is not genuine and that it was originally hand painted. End of report.Based on this, the photograph mentioned is fake and does not represent the true structure of the grave of the honored Prophet. Even if we assume that it matches the real grave of the Prophet, it is impermissible to circulate the photograph and revere it because it will lead to extremism and Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) and the various paths leading to it. For this reason, it is forbidden to draw the Prophet's grave, sell the drawings or acquire them. It has been authentically narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (Part No. 7; Page No. 360) forbade this in order to block all avenues to Shirk and extremism.May Allah grant you success! May Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions!