Turning an Old Graveyard into a Mosque

Question

If, in a certain place, intact graves are demolished and a mosque is built on that spot — is it permissible to demolish the graves or not, and is it permissible to build a mosque on the site of these graves or not?

Answer

If that graveyard is on privately owned land and the graves in it are so old that the dead in them have completely turned to earth, then it is permissible to demolish those graves, level the ground, and build there a mosque, a madrasa, shops — anything at all. Once the deceased has turned to earth, the rulings of the grave change.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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