Is it permissible to pray in a mosque that has a graveyard in front of its qiblah?

If the mosque was built
because of those graves, then it is not acceptable to pray in it; this is
like what the Jews and Christians did who used to venerate graves and
build places of worship over them. 

If that is not the case and
the mosque was not built because of those graves, then it is acceptable to
pray in it, but some scholars stipulate that between the wall of the mosque
and the graves there should be some empty space or a distance separating
them from one another. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Al-Aamidi and others said:
it is not permissible to pray in it – i.e., a mosque whose qiblah faces
towards graves – unless there is between the wall and the graveyard another
barrier. And some of them mentioned that this was stated by Ahmad. 

Al-Mustadrak ‘ala
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 3/75 

In al-Durar al-Saniyyah
fil Ajwabah al-Najdiyyah (4/265) it says: 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn
al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Lateef ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan and Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn
Sahmaan said: With regard to the mosque of al-Taa’if, on the northern side
of which there is the grave of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him),
it is permissible to pray in the mosque, if a high wall has been placed
between the grave and the mosque, which means that the grave is outside of
the mosque boundary. So it is not makrooh to pray there. End quote. 

Others stipulated that the
wall of the mosque should be high so that the graves cannot be seen by the
worshippers. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: 

If a person prays in a
mosque in front of which is a graveyard, if there is a street – for example
– or a full wall, so that the worshippers cannot see the graves, there is
nothing wrong with that. But if it is close and directly next to the mosque,
and there is no wall, or there is a wall but it is low and the worshippers
can see these graves, then it is not permissible, because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not pray towards graves
and do not sit on them.” Narrated by Muslim 

Liqa’ al-baab al-Maftooh,
137; first question 

It does not seem that what
is mentioned above – about the wall being high and there being empty space
in between – is binding, but if that is done then it is better and doing it
is on the safe side. Rather it is sufficient if the mosque and the graves
are separated by a wall which shows that the mosque is separate from the
graves. One of the signs of them being completely separate is that each of
them – the graveyard and the mosque – was built on its own land, and that
the mosque was not built because of the graves. If that is the case, then it
is permissible to pray in the mosque. 

The scholars of the
Standing Committee were asked: 

Some mosques and places
where the Eid prayers and prayers for rain (istisqa’) are offered are built
near graveyards in such a way that the graveyard is in the qiblah of the
mosque and is separated from it by only a few metres. Some of the mosques
are right next to the graveyards, and places where the Eid prayers and
prayers for rain (istisqa’) are offered are surrounded with a wall that
separates them from the graveyard, whilst some others do not have a wall
separating them from the graveyard. What is the ruling? 

They replied 

If these mosques and places
where the Eid prayers and prayers for rain (istisqa’) are offered were not
built near the graveyards because of the graveyards or to honour those who
were buried in them or to seek more reward for praying in them because they
are close to the graveyards, then building them for praying and drawing
closer to Allah in them is permissible, praying in them is acceptable and
frequenting them for the purpose of prayer and other acts of worship that
may be done there is something that is encouraged in Islam. If the
graveyards are surrounded with walls that separate them from the mosques,
that is sufficient. With regard to those that are not surrounded with walls,
walls should be built to separate them from the mosques and places where the
Eid prayers and prayers for rain (istisqa’) are offered. If it is possible
to leave empty space between the walls of the mosques and places where the
Eid prayers and prayers for rain (istisqa’) are offered, and the walls of
the graveyards, that is more on the safe side. But if the mosques were built
around the graveyards in order to venerate the graves, it is not permissible
to pray in them and they should be demolished, because building them in the
manner mentioned is one of the things that lead to shirk, i.e., associating
the occupants of the grave with Allah. And it is narrated in a saheeh report
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not
pray towards graves or sit on them.” It is also narrated from him in a
saheeh report that he said: “Those who came before you used to take the
graves of their Prophets and righteous men as places of worship; do not take
graves as places of worship for I forbid you to do that.” Both hadeeths were
narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh; the hadeeths concerning this matter
are well known. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn
Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh
‘Abd-Allah ibn Qa‘ood 

Majallat al-Buhooth
al-Islamiyyah, 15/78, 79 

See also the answer to
question no. 13490 

And Allah knows best.