In a message dated 8/12/99 10:20:35 PM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << think we all agree on the prohibition of building elaborate tombs. The question is what do we do with the ones that are already there? destroy them ? This is a very interesting point to bring up .No one should be allowed to build them anymore . ******************* Habib, This is a very interesting point. Since l learned about the prohibition of erecting any kind of monument or structure on a burial site, l have agonized over the fact that all our graveyards in Gambia for example are full of them, even that of my own parents have been built over by siblings and other relatives who are sure they were doing something positive, and l thought the same thing until l came across this information. Well, it is a real dilemma.l have often thought about what everyone would think of me if l decided to go and dismantle the structures on my parent's graves.The issue would be very controversial if raised, and yet, the ruling against erecting structures over graves is as clear as daylight.Speaking up against it would carry the same weight as Imam Fatty calling the Ahmadiyyas innovators, which they are, or the group that raised the issue about the Mourids in Senegal which resulted in those riots, or even the fact that using any kind of false hair is haram because there is an authentic hadith in which the Prophet said "that Allah has cursed the womwn who wears a wig, the person who makes the wig as well as the person who puts it on for her. Very authentic hadith, but what an uproar that would cause nowadays when extensions are so widely used by many muslim women at home. l think the fact that we do not know Arabic,(except for a few amongst us) and as such, aside from learning the necessary surahs for praying, we have not been able to delve into the sunnah texts and the Qu'ran as well, such as those of Buhari and Muslim, as well as other works that were not available to us in English or French (Lnaguages we can read) until recently, to learn more about the deen, especially hadith, which covers all the acceptable and unacceptable in the deen. Consequently, over the years, we have continued some practices which are inconsistent with the deen, unknowingly, and which will be veyr hard to get rid of if ever. Well, Allah Ta'ala does forgive us for the things we are ignorant of, alhamdulallah, but l am afraid that some of us will continue to practice them even when we find out that they are haram. Jabou ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------