Hadith: May the curse of Allah be upon the Jews and the Christians, for they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship

عن عائشة أم المؤمنين وعبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما قالا:
لَمَّا نَزَلَ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ طَفِقَ يَطْرَحُ خَمِيصَةً لَهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ، فَإِذَا اغْتَمَّ بِهَا كَشَفَهَا عَنْ وَجْهِهِ، فَقَالَ وَهُوَ كَذَلِكَ: «لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى اليَهُودِ وَالنَّصَارَى، اتَّخَذُوا قُبُورَ أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ مَسَاجِدَ» يُحَذِّرُ مَا صَنَعُوا.
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه] - [صحيح البخاري: 435]

‘Ā’ishah and ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported:
As the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was about to breathe his last breath, he kept drawing his sheet over his face. When he felt uneased, he would uncover his face and say in that very state: "May the curse of Allah be upon the Jews and the Christians, for they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship." He wanted to warn against what they did.
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim] - [Sahih Bukhari - 435]

Explanation

'Ā’ishah and 'Abdullāh ibn' Abbās (may Allah be pleased with both of them) inform us that when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was close to breathing his last, he kept drawing a piece of cloth upon his face. When he found it hard to breathe due to the throes of death, he would remove it from his face. While being in that tough condition, he said: May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians and expel them out of His mercy. Were it not for the seriousness of this matter, he would not mention it in a situation like that. Hence, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade his Ummah from emulating this act, because it was done by the Jews and the Christians and because it is a means conducive to association of partners with Allah Almighty.