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Visiting the Grave of the Prophet ﷺ and the Etiquettes of doing so
A narration [ḥadīth] of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ [sallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam: May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] mentions the importance of three blessed mosques:
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Mounts are not saddled for except to (travel to) three Masjids: Al-Masjid Al-Haram [Mecca], this Masjid of mine [in Madina], and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem]..” Sunan an-Nasāʾī 700
Also, it was known that whenever the Companions [Sahāba] رضی الله عنھم [radiallāhu ʿanhum: May Allah be pleased with them] went to the Mosque of the Prophet ﷺ, immediately after finishing the prayer, they would visit his grave to give greetings of peace [salāms] to him ﷺ as Abdullah bin ʿUmar bin al-Khattāb رضى الله عنه used to do.
So, visiting the grave of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is one of the greatest actions and forms of obedience we can do to come close to Allah ﷻ [God, jalla jalāluhu: Great is His Majesty].
Qādi Iyāḍ رضى الله عنه said: “Visting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ is a sunnah [way] that all Muslims have agreed on and it has good merits.”
This is proven by the following narration [ḥadīth]:
Abdullah bin Zaid al-Ansari رضى الله عنه reported Allah’s Messenger ﷺ as saying: “That which exists between my pulpit and my house is a garden from the gardens of Paradise.” Saḥīḥ Muslim 1390b
“Whoever visits my grave I will be obliged to give him my shifa [intercession].” Qādi Iyāḍ as Shifa 3-842
In another narration [ḥadīth]:
“Whoever visits me after my death, it is as if he visited me during my life.” Al-Tabarānī, Al Dār al Quṭnī
The scholars in all schools have made a special section in their books about the etiquette of visiting the grave of the Messenger of Allahﷺ [Rasūlullāh] from the beginning of the journey to its return. In hi on the rituals of Hajj and Umra, Al Imām an Nawāwī رَحْمَةُ الله عليه devoted the sixth section to the subject of visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and the etiquette of doing so. The scholars of Imam Al-Shāfiʿī رَحْمَةُ الله عليه said, after finishing the pilgrimage of Hajj, one should travel to Madina to visit the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. It is a confirmed request, and it is one of the best deeds, worship and ways to bring you close to Allah ﷻ. Their proof is in the following verse:
“We did not send any Messenger but to be obeyed by the leave of Allah. Had they, after having wronged themselves, come to you and sought forgiveness from Allah, and had the Messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would certainly have found Allah Most-Relenting, Very-Merciful.” Qurʾān: Women [An-Nisāʾ] 4: 64
We have made it clear that it is not imaginable that a person would go to the mosque in Medina just to worship without visiting the grave of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It is enough for us as a proof that the Sahāba رضی الله عنھم used to always go and visit his grave because they are our example. There are further details of the etiquette of visiting the Prophet’s ﷺ grave as Imam al Ghazāli رَحْمَةُ الله عليه mentions in his book Revival of the Religious Sciences [Iḥyaʾ ʿUlūm ad-Dīn]:
“He aims to the mosque and enters it and prays two units of prayer [rakāts] beside the pulpit [mimba]. Then he goes to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and stands facing it. The direction of prayer [Qibla] will be behind him and the wall of the grave in front of him. It is not from the Sunnah that you touch the wall or kiss it, but rather [it is appropriate] to stand a bit further away out of respect. He stands and gives greetings of peace [salāms] to the Prophet ﷺ mentioning his names ﷺ: ‘The Prophet of Allah, the Beloved of Allah! The Safekeeper of the Revelation [al Waḥī]! The Chosen One of Allah!’ ﷺ et cetera. Then he should turn to the direction of prayer [qibla], after also giving greetings of peace [salāms] to Sayidina Abu Bakr and Sayidina ʿUmar Al-Khattab رضى الله عنهما and he should praise Allah ﷻ and ask Allah ﷻ to send his peace and blessings [salāt wa salām] on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then he says, ‘Allah ﷻ, we have come to Your Prophet ﷺ so he can be our Intercessor to You for our sins. Accept our repentance and make the Messenger of Allah [Rasūlullāh] ﷺ our Intercessor [shafīʿ]. O Allah ﷻ, please let this not be the last time for us to visit Your Prophet ﷺ or this mosque.’”
After visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and giving greetings [salāms], it is recommended [mustaḥab] to go to the graveyard, Jannat al Baqīʿ,and visit the graves of the Companions [Saḥāba] رضی الله عنھم.
Finally, it is also important to know that we should not raise our voices when we visit the grave of the Prophet ﷺ, just as if we were visiting him ﷺ alive:
“O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and be not loud when speaking to him, as you are loud when speaking to one another, lest your good deeds should become void while you are not aware.” Qurʾān: The Private Rooms [Al-Hujarāt] 49:2
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The ruling regarding those who shed blood and take away wealth and honour
Contents
- The sanctity of human life
- Killing a Muslim – one of the greatest sins
- The sanctity of blood, property and honour
The ruling regarding those who shed blood and take away wealth and honour
- The sanctity of human life
The Islamic law [Sharīʿa] gives great importance to the sanctity of human life.
The right to live and be safe is one of the most sacred and inviolable rights. In Islam great care is taken to protect lives and it is forbidden [ḥarām] to kill.
Allah ﷻ [God, jalla jalāluhu: Great is His Majesty] has said in the Qurʾān:
“Nor take life which Allah has made sacred – except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, We have given his heir authority [to demand Qisas or to forgive]: but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life: for he is helped [by the Law]. Qurʾān: The Night Journey [Al-ʾIsrāʾ] 17:33
Islam has made the killing of one person equivalent to killing the whole of humanity.
“For this reason, We decreed for the children of Isra’il that whoever kills a person not in retaliation for a person killed, nor [as a punishment] for spreading disorder on earth, is as if he has killed the whole of humankind, and whoever saves the life of a person is as if he has saved the whole of humankind. Certainly, Our messengers have come to them with clear signs. Then, after all that, many of them are there to commit excesses on the earth.” Qurʾān: The Feast [Al-Māʾidah] 5:32
- Shedding blood – one of the greatest sins
On the Day of Judgement, the first thing that people will be held to account for is the taking of a life.
ʿAbdullah b. Masʿud reported God’s Messenger ﷺ as saying, “Shedding of blood will be the first matter about which judgement will be given on the Day of Resurrection.” Bukhāri and Muslim Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ 3448
It was narrated that ʿAbdullah bin ʿAmr said: “Killing a believer is more grievous before Allah than the extinction of the whole world.” Sunan an-Nasāʾī 3988
Narrated ʿAbdullah bin ʿAmr: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever killed a Mu’ahid [a person who is granted the pledge of protection by the Muslims] shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise though its fragrance can be smelt at a distance of forty years [of travelling]. Saḥīḥ al-Bukhāri 6914
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever helps to kill a believer, even with half a word, he will meet Allah ﷻ with [the words] written between his eyes ‘He has no hope of the mercy of Allah ﷻ.’” Sunan Ibn Mājah 2620
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam [May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] also said:
“It was narrated from ʿAbdullah bin ʿUmar that: The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever bears weapons against us, he is not one of us.” Sunan an-Nasāʾī 4100
Therefore, it is one of the greatest sins to kill Muslims or to take their wealth or their honour.
- The sanctity of blood, property and honour
And as for those who give justification to blowing up or killing groups of people in markets, streets, schools – anywhere: they have lied about Islam and forgotten or blatantly ignored the message of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in his final sermon during the Ḥajj (annual Islamic pilgrimage):
“O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds.”
Narrated ʿAbdur-Rahman bin Abi Bakra’s father: [The Prophet ﷺ] said: “Verily! Your blood, property and honour are sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours in this month of yours and in this city of yours.” Saḥīḥ al-Bukhāri 67
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The whole of the Muslim is sacred to his fellow Muslim, his blood, his wealth and his honour.” Sunan Ibn Mājah 3933
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CONTENTS
Intolerance of the different schools of law in Islam
- The farewell message of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
- The unchanging principles of Islam and Ijtihād
- Two Groups – scholars and common people
- The value of the maḏhabs and their variations
- The farewell Message of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ [salallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam: May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him]
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ passed away after he had conveyed the message of Islam from Allah ﷻ [God, jalla jalāluhu: [Great is His Majesty]. It was a blessing from Allah ﷻ to the Muslims that the religion was now complete.
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” Qurʾān: The Feast [Al-Māʾidah] 5: 3
It was narrated from ʿAbdur-Rahman bin ʿAmr As-Sulami that: He heard Al-ʿIrbad bin Sariyah say: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a moving speech to us which made our eyes flow with tears and made our hearts melt. We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! This is a speech of farewell. What did you enjoin upon us?’
He ﷺ said: ‘I am leaving you upon a [path of] brightness whose night is like its day. No one will deviate from it after I am gone but one who is doomed. Whoever among you lives will see great conflict. I urge you to adhere to what you know of my Sunnah and the path of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and cling stubbornly to it. And you must obey, even if [your leader is] an Abysinnian leader. For the true believer is like a camel with a ring in its nose; wherever it is driven, it complies.’” Sunan Ibn Mājah Book 1, Ḥadīth 43
- The unchanging principles of Islam and Ijtihād [the effort of the Islamic scholars to investigate new cases in life that were not faced earlier, deriving the solutions and answers through the Qurʾān and the Sunnah]
Thus, the principles of Islam – its fundamental beliefs, the Islamic law [sharīʿa] and its way of conduct (manners) – are established and clear. These fundamental principles do not change and cannot be replaced by anything else. Furthermore, it is from the blessing of Allah ﷻ on this Muslim Nation [ummah] that He ﷻ has honoured it and made new cases and problems in life open to ijtihād. This is helpful for modern problems as it means a door has been left open for these new cases and matters to be agreed upon.
The Qurʾān grants permission for ijtihād to take place in the following verse:
“When news concerning peace of fear comes to them, they go about spreading it. Had they referred it to the Messenger and to those having authority among them, the truth of the matter would have come to the knowledge of those of them who are able to investigate. But for Allah’s grace upon you, and mercy, you would have followed Satan, save a few.” Qurʾān: Women [An-Nisāʾ] 4:83
Also, we see the response of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Sayyidina Muād رضى الله عنه [radiyallāhu ʿanhu: May Allah ﷻ be pleased with him] when he was sent to Yemen:
Some of the men who were companions of Muʾadh narrated from Muʾadh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Muʾadh to Yemen, so he said: “How will you judge?” He said: “I will judge according to what is in Allah’s Book.” He said: “If it is not in Allah’s Book?” He said: “Then with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” He said: “If it is not in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? He said: “I will give my view.” He said: “All praise is due to Allah, the One Who made the messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ suitable.” Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1327
Therefore, we can see that the Companions [Saḥāba] رضی الله عنھم of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ worked hard on getting the right decision. There might have been some differences in the results of these rulings and so through the centuries, different schools [maḏhabs], of the theory of Islamic law [fiqh]) have been established with their own ijtihād.
With the use of ijtihād and the establishment of the schools of the theory of Islamic law, [maḏhabs], a wider arena was opened for Muslims. This is because Islam is based on ease. Allah ﷻ says:
“Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.” Qurʾān: The Cow [Al Baqarah] 2:185
- Two groups – scholars and common people
People (Muslims) have been divided into two groups:
- The first group has reached a high stage of knowledge and ability to do ijtihād. These are the scholars and mujtahidīn, who are the ones who carry the conditions needed for ijtihād and are able to derive rulings. They have advanced knowledge of the Islamic Law [sharīʿa] and a righteous way of life.
- The second group is the majority of Muslims who exist at any time. They have no knowledge of how to take proofs from Islamic rules or the methods required to derive rulings. These people should choose and follow one of the scholars in his school of Islamic law [maḏhab]. The main sunni schools [maḏhabs] of Islamic law [fiqh] are: Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī.
They can also follow one of the scholars who lives in their country in accordance with one of the main four schools ( Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī or Ḥanbalī) or what has been proven as a true ruling from their scholars, on the condition that they follow the Qurʾān and the established ways of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ [sunnah] and the methods of ijtihād that the scholars depend on.
- The value of the maḏhabs and their variations
As previously mentioned, the number of maḏhabs and the variations between them, give the Muslim people greater scope. This was expressed clearly by ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz
رضى الله عنه
“What makes me happy is that in the differences among the companions [Ṣaḥāba] of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ there is blessing. Because if there was only one opinion, it would have been tight [difficult] for the people.”
One day the Khalīfa Abū Jaʿfar al Manṣūr رضى الله عنه wanted to enforce the Mālikī school through Imām Mālik’s رض الله عنه book, The Well-trodden Path [Al Muwatta]. However, Imām Mālik ض الله عنه wisely refused this because he feared that if they only had one school of Islamic law [maḏhab] to follow, it would be difficult for the common people.
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The ruling regarding accusing Muslims of unbelief [kufr] or insulting or harming them
Allah ﷻ [God, jalla jalāluhu: Great is His Majesty] has created a very strong connection between people in the Muslim Nation [ummah]. All Muslims are linked together through their faith [imān] and beliefs.
َ “All believers are but brothers, therefore seek reconciliation between your two brothers, and fear Allah, so that you may be blessed with mercy.” Qurʾān: The Private Rooms [Al-Hujarāt] 49:10
Due to this bond of brotherhood, Allah ﷻ has established rights and obligations between us.
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ [salallahu alayhi wasallam: peace and blessings be upon him] said: “The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim. He does not cheat him, lie to him, nor deceive him. All of the Muslim is unlawful to another Muslim. His honour, his wealth, his blood. At -Taqwa is here. It is enough evil for a man that he belittles his brother Muslim.” Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhī Book 27, Ḥadīth 33
The wealth, blood and honour of every Muslim is forbidden [ḥarām] to another Muslim. A real Muslim is a person who does not harm any of Allah’s ﷻ servants – whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim.
Narrated Abu Hurairah: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The Muslim is the one from [the harm of] whose tongue and hand [other] Muslims are safe, and the believer is the one whom the people trust their blood and their wealth.” Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhī 2627
Therefore, it is unlawful [ḥarām] for a Muslim to harm and insult another Muslim. The worst kind of unlawfulness is to accuse somebody of being an unbeliever [kāfir]. It is unacceptable to do that just on a mere suspicion or thought and to hasten to cast judgement on Allah’s ﷻ servants.
“O you who believe, when you go out in the way of Allh be careful, and do not say to the one who offers you the Salam [salutation], ‘You are not a believer’ to seek stuff of the worldly life. So, with Allah there are spoils in abundance. In the same state you were before’ then Allah favoured you. So be careful. Surely, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.” Qurʾān: Women [An-Nisāʾ] 4:94
As Muslims we do not accuse anyone who prays towards the direction [Qibla] of the Kaʿbah (the sacred building at Mecca to which Muslims turn at prayer) with unbelief [kufr]. This is supported in the following narration [ḥadīth]:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Apostle ﷺ said “Whoever prays like us and faces our Qibla and eats our slaughtered animals is a Muslim and is under Allah’s and His Apostle’s protection. So do not betray Allah by betraying those who are in his protection.” Saḥīḥ al-Bukhāri 391
One of the worst kinds of innovation [bidaʿh] that has reappeared in our times is that of accusing other Muslims of being unbelievers [takfīr], as explained in the following narrations [aḥādīth]:
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When someone says to another, ‘Unbeliever!’ then one of them is an unbeliever. If the one to whom he says it is an unbeliever, he has spoken the truth. If that is not the case, then the one who said it has brought down disbelief on himself.” Saḥīḥ (Al-Albānī) Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 440
Ibn ‘Umar reported the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as saying: “If any believing man calls another believing man an unbeliever, if he is actually an infidel, it is all right; if not, he will become an infidel.” Saḥīḥ (Al-Albānī) Sunan Abī Dāwud 4687
Abu Dharr is reported as saying that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say: “If a man accuses another man of deviance or accuses him of disbelief, that accusation will come back on him if his companion is not as he said.” Saḥīḥ (Al-Albānī) Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 432
Narrated Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam, is, as he says; and whoever commits suicide with something, will be punished with the same thing in the [Hell] Fire; and cursing a believer is like murdering him; and whoever accuses a believer of disbelief, then it is as if he had killed him.” Saḥīḥ al-Bukhāri
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