Bringing a grave into the mosque courtyard to expand it

Question

There is a mosque whose floor is small; it needs to be expanded. In extending the existing floor forward, a grave falls in the way. Is there scope in the Shari‘a for vaulting over this grave with an arch and taking it into the mosque courtyard?

Answer

If that grave lies in land that is someone’s property and is so old that the deceased in it has completely turned to dust, then including that land in the mosque with the owner’s permission is correct; and the grave should be completely effaced, with no trace of it left.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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