عن عطاء بن يسار وأبي هريرة رضي الله عنه مرفوعاً: "اللهم لا تجعل قبري وثنا يُعبد، اشتد غضب الله على قوم اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد".
[صحيحان] - [حديث عطاء بن يسار: رواه مالك. حديث أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه: رواه أحمد]
المزيــد ...

‘Atā' ibn Yasār and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, do not make my grave an idol that is worshiped. Allah's wrath was intense upon a people who took the graves of their prophets as places of worship."
Sahih/Authentic. - [Ahmad]

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) feared that his nation would treat his grave in the same way the Jews and Christians treated the graves of their prophets. They exaggerated in venerating them until their prophets' graves became idols. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated his Lord not to make his grave as such. Then he clarified why the Jews and Christians incurred the wrath and curse (of Allah); it was because of what they did with the graves of their prophets, turning them into worshiped idols. They thus committed polytheism, which is contrary to monotheism.

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Benefits from the Hadith

  1. Excessive reverence for the prophets’ graves turn them into worshiped idols.
  2. An example of such excessive reverence for the graves is taking them as places of worship, which leads to polytheism.
  3. It establishes the attribute of anger for Allah Almighty in a way that befits His majesty.
  4. Visiting the graves out of exaltation for them is deemed a form of worship to them and thus an act of polytheism, no matter how the close the person buried in the grave was to Allah, Exalted be He.
  5. It is prohibited to build mosques over the graves.
  6. It is prohibited to offer prayer at graves, even if no mosque is built there.