Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

should the grave of a muslim be parmanent with his name plate on it or the opposite 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Permanent Grave

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.72

Prohibition of Whitewashing or Writing on a Grave

Jabir reported: "The Prophet (saws) forbade the whitewashing of a grave, sitting on it, or erecting any structure on it."

(Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Nasa'i, Abu Daw'ud, and Tirmidhi)

Tirmidhi relates: "The Prophet (saws) forbade the whitewashing of graves, writing on them, building on them, or stepping on them."

Nasa'i, relates: "The Prophet (saws) forbade building over a grave, adding anything to it, white washing it, or writing on it."

Some scholars have approved daubing the grave with clay. Tirmidhi said: "Some scholars, including Al-Hasan alBasri, hold it permissible to coat the graves with clay." Ash-Shafi'i is also of the same view and sees no harm in giving the graves a coating of clay.

Ja'far bin Muhammad reported from his father: "The grave of the Prophet (saws) was raised one hand from the ground and was coated with red clay and some gravel." This was narrated by Abu Bakr An-Najjad.

Concerning the hadith prohibiting writing on graves, it apparently includes writing the name of the deceased or any other thing on the grave.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Imam Shafei are of the opinion that inscription on graves is prohibited, whether it is a portion of the Qur'an or the name of the deceased.

Imam Malik is of the opinion that writing any portion of the Qur'an is not permissible, and the writing of the name and date of death of the deceased is disliked (makruh) .

Imam Abu Hanifa disapproves the writing of anything on the grave and considers it unlawful, except when it is feared that any trace of the grave might disappear.

In light of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the various opinions of the eminent scholars and jurists in Islam, it would be unlawful and impermissible in Islam to make a permanent structure or write anything over a grave.  What is permissible is that a rock or something is placed at head or toe of the grave so that one may recognize the grave of their loved ones. 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan