Q. I have been told that Maryam, Jesus’ mother, was buried at Al-Hateem, near the Kaaba, and that many prophets are buried in the area between the Kaaba and Maqam Ibraheem. As a result many people celebrate ‘urs’ or death anniversaries there. Please confirm whether this is true.
S.S. Naeemuddin
A. I do not know whether these reports are true or not. We do not have any authentic tradition, or statement by the Prophet (peace be upon him), to suggest that this is true. Therefore, those who make such a claim should produce the authority on which they rely. Otherwise, their claims should be dismissed.
Besides, what does it matter if we know the burial place of one prophet or another? The maximum that we are allowed when we visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah is to pass by his grave, say our greeting to him and pray to God to reward him for having delivered God’s message intact. We are not allowed to organize any function, such as the one called ‘urs’ in Urdu, which means death anniversary. Such functions have no place in our faith.
The best that you can do when you hear such claims is to say that it might be so, and forget the matter totally. It has no significance whatsoever in Islam to mark the grave or burial place of anyone, including God’s messengers. Based on its concept that God gives life and takes it away, Islam does not allow organizing any function to commemorate the death of anyone, including prophets.
