The History of the Grave of the Prophet ﷺ

The Grave in the Mamluk era

The roof above the grave of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was demolished during the era of the Mamluk Dynasty, around the year 678 Al-Hijri. Instead, the ruler of that time, Al Mansur Qalawun As-Salihi, created a completely new wooden chamber around the graves, and topped it with a dome made of wood which was covered with an additional layer of lead. The old brickwork was demolished completely as well. This event, historically, was the very first time a dome had been built over the graves of the Prophet ﷺ and his two great companions. But the dome was largely ignored during the reign of Sultan Al Nasir Muhammad, as Al Nasir Muhammad was a firm follower of the Sunnah and was often advised by the great scholar Ibn Taymiyyah on making decisions. Hence, the dome and tomb chamber fell into huge disrepair despite many people visiting the blessed graves often.

The lead covering of the dome started to crack in the year 765 Al-Hijri. So, the ruler, Al-Ashraf Sha'baan, did a minor restoration, and he re-covered the wooden dome with a brand new layer of lead polish. The dome was later painted white using lead-based pigments, though at some point, it was also painted blue.

A large fire struck the Mosque of the Prophet ﷺ in 881 Al-Hijri. The mosque building was badly damaged, and the grave chamber had collapsed as well. So the Mamluk ruler, Abu al-Nasr Sayfuddin Qaitbay, started a large restoration project. He rebuilt the Mosque of the Prophet ﷺ with bricks. Most of the original wooden structure of the tomb chamber was demolished and replaced with brick. The dome above the graves was built with white plaster after the old wooden dome began falling apart after countless restorations.

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Myth: Nothing wrong with constructing a dome over the grave of Prophet ﷺ!

Debunk: The first dome over the Prophet's grave was built by a Mamluk ruler who was heavily influenced by pantheistic Sufis. Qalawun is known to have funded the construction of similar domes over graves in Egypt that were attributed to the Ahl al-Bayt and several Muslim scholars. These domes still exist today and mosques have been built around them. In fact, Qalawun himself was buried in a grand mausoleum that was attached to his royal mosque and madrasah.