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Fatwa CenterRuling on selling a piece of land that contains graves
Question
as salamu alaykom respect shiekh .. i am asking you a question on behalf of another sister ,, should would like to know .. A sister bought grave plots before she became muslim. Now a family member wants to buy the graves from her. Is it permissible to sell it, especially since it's in a non muslim cemetary, and if so, should she sell it for what she bought it for (no profit), for full price the grave is selling for now (major profit), or somewhere in between? may Allah reward you and bless you and your family with the glad tidings of firdaws ,,
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.
It is permissible to sell a plot of land which is the site of graves, and it is permissible to sell it at any price. What is forbidden in Islam is to sell a plot of land that is especially endowed (given as Waqf, or a charitable trust) for the purpose of turning it into a graveyard because it is not permissible to dispose of Waqf endowments through purchase, sale and so on.
The evidence of the permissibility of selling a plot of land that contains graves is that Anas ibn Maalik 
said: “When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, arrived at Al-Madeenah he dismounted in the upper part of Al-Madeenah in the company of a tribe called Banu `Amr ibn `Awf. He stayed there for fourteen nights. Then he sent for Banu An-Najjaar and they came armed with their swords. It is as if I am watching on (just now) as the Prophet 
was sitting on his mount with Abu Bakr riding behind him and all Banu An-Najjaar around him till he dismounted at the courtyard of Abu Ayyoob’s house. The Prophet liked to pray wherever the time for the prayer was due, even at sheep-folds. Later on he ordered that a mosque be built and sent for some people of Banu-An-Najjaar and said, “O Banu An-Najjaar! Offer a price for this (walled) piece of land of yours.” They replied, “No. By Allaah! We do not demand payment for it except from Allaah.” Anas added: There were graves of disbelievers in it…” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Allaah Knows best.
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