What is the statement regarding the contradiction between your fatwa permitting prayer in a mosque built over non-apparent graves and the fatwas of Ibn Baz and the Permanent Committee, which did not permit prayer in a mosque containing graves? Do they mean apparent graves or non-apparent graves, and is there a difference between them?

The fatwa number should be mentioned to clarify the issue, as our fatwas warn against building mosques over graves and explain their danger. The wisdom behind this prohibition is to block the means (sadd al-dhari'ah) leading to polytheism (shirk). Thus, if the form or reality of a grave exists, the prohibition applies. If it is claimed that unseen graves exist after the mosque has been built, there is no meaning in prohibiting prayer in it, because the intent is that no image of a grave should be present. Ibn Taymiyyah holds that it is impermissible to bury a deceased person in a mosque, and if a mosque is built over a grave, then either the mosque must be removed or the image of the grave must be removed. The Prophet's Mosque was built in a place where there were graves of polytheists, which were exhumed. Al-Albani clarifies that if a grave is not apparent, no harm results from it, because polytheistic practices occur at graves that are glorified and venerated.