Is it permissible to erect gravestones at graves for identification?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: The only Muslim cemetery where I live is  controlled by a mosque of a different islamic sensibility. We have been trying to get their leader to allow us to bury our dead with gravestones, but their shaykh says it is shirk. Could you clarify the Hanafi position on gravestones? Can you give me a hadith that shows  the permissibility of gravestones? 
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
It is permitted to erect a gravestone to identify the deceased. [Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar `ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar]
At the burial of `Uthman ibn Maz`un, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “I am marking my brother’s grave with it [= a stone], and I shall bury beside him those of my family who die.” [Abu Dawud]
And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani