The Ruling on Visiting Mount Uhud and the Prescribed Places in Makkah and al-Madinah

Question:
I came with a group for 'Umrah, and they wanted to visit Mount Uhud. Is this visit valid? What are the places that are visited in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and Makkah al-Mukarramah?

Answer:
Visiting Mount Uhud is not prescribed; visiting it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Believing that there is virtue in it and that visiting it brings reward is a bid'ah, because this is not among the things Allah has prescribed for us to visit. The places visited in Makkah are the al-Masjid al-Haram, in which Allah has made prayer better than a hundred thousand prayers in any other mosque. There is no place in Makkah that is visited other than al-Masjid al-Haram. During the days of Hajj, 'Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina are the sites of Hajj. This is what Allah has prescribed to be visited, intended, and worshipped in during the days of Hajj. Other than that, nothing is visited except the graves. The graves of Muslims are visited to greet them and supplicate for the deceased. Graves are visited to greet the dead, supplicate for them, and for the sake of taking a lesson and being admonished, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: at the end.
As for what they say about visiting the house of the Prophet's birth, and visiting the cave of Hira and the cave of Thawr, all of this is among the bid'ah (religious innovations) that or visiting graves to seek blessing from them or to seek nearness to Allah through the dead; this is a shirki (shirk-based) and innovative visit that is not permissible. This is in Makkah. As for Madinah, what is prescribed to be visited in Madinah is the Prophet's Mosque and praying in it.
And al-Masjid Quba and praying in it. If it is easy for him, he should visit the graves to greet the deceased, supplicate for them, and take a lesson. This is a sunnah (recommended practice). Visiting graves is a sunnah in al-Madinah and in Makkah, in every place. It is not specific to Makkah and al-Madinah. Visiting graves is prescribed in every place for the sake of greeting the deceased, supplicating for them, and taking a lesson and being admonished. Yes.