Hadith: Those are a people who, when a righteous slave or a righteous man from among them dies, they build a place of worship

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ المؤمنين رضي الله عنها:

أَنَّ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ ذَكَرَتْ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَنِيسَةً رَأَتْهَا بِأَرْضِ الْحَبَشَةِ، يُقَالُ لَهَا مَارِيَةُ، فَذَكَرَتْ لَهُ مَا رَأَتْ فِيهَا مِنَ الصُّوَرِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «أُولَئِكَ قَوْمٌ إِذَا مَاتَ فِيهِمُ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ، أَوِ الرَّجُلُ الصَّالِحُ، بَنَوْا عَلَى قَبْرِهِ مَسْجِدًا، وَصَوَّرُوا فِيهِ تِلْكَ الصُّوَرَ، أُولَئِكَ شِرَارُ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللهِ».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه] - [صحيح البخاري: 434]

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:
’Umm Salamah mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that she had seen a church in Abyssinia called Māriyah, and she mentioned the images that she had seen therein. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those are a people who, when a righteous slave or a righteous man from among them dies, they build a place of worship over his grave and place those images therein. Those are the most evil people in the sight of Allah."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim] - [Sahih Bukhari - 434]

Explanation

’Umm Salamah, the Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that when she was in Abyssinia, she saw a church, called Māriyah, that had images, decorations, and drawings therein and she was amazed at that. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified the reason behind using such images. He said: Those people, whom you mentioned, whenever a righteous man among them died, would build a place of worship over his grave and make such images. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that whoever does this is counted among the most evil people in the sight of Allah Almighty because his deed leads to associating partners with Allah Almighty.