Visiting the Graves: Its Permissibility, Its Purpose, The Manner of Visiting, How to Greet and Make Du'a for the Inhabitants
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The first question in this episode is from a listener, 'Amr, from Riyadh. He says: I hope you will present my question to the Honorable Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan. First, he says: My father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away, and I went to visit his grave in the cemetery, but I do not know how to greet him and all the deceased. I hope you will clarify this for us. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, visiting graves for the purpose of greeting the deceased, making du'a for them, and seeking forgiveness for them is a prescribed matter and a confirmed Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it by saying: "Visit the graves, for they remind you of the Hereafter." So the purpose of visiting graves is two things. The first is making du'a for the deceased Muslims and seeking forgiveness for them. The second is taking a lesson and drawing a warning from the state of the dead.
So there is a benefit for the living and a benefit for the deceased. The benefit for the living is that he takes a lesson, draws a warning, remembers, and his heart becomes soft. And the benefit for the deceased is that a righteous du'a from his visiting brother reaches him.
The manner of visiting graves and greeting them is that when you approach them, you face the graves, you turn your face toward them, and you say: "Peace be upon you, people of the abode of the Muslims and the believers, and we, if Allah wills, will be joining you. May Allah have mercy on those of us who have gone before and those who come after. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you."
This is for the deceased in the cemetery in general. Then you go to the grave you specifically wish to visit, you stand over it and greet it with the usual greeting for the living: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then you make du'a for him with whatever du'a is easy for you. Face the qiblah, placing the grave between you and the qiblah, and make du'a for the deceased. Then you leave. Yes.
The presenter:
While delivering the greeting to the gathering, the grave is between him and the drum, between him and the Muslim.
The Shaykh:
This is acceptable, and it is acceptable for him to come from the front, and it is acceptable for him to stand and face the qiblah. Yes.
The presenter:
Do you want him standing or sitting?
The Shaykh:
A little of both.
The first question in this episode is from a listener, 'Amr, from Riyadh. He says: I hope you will present my question to the Honorable Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan. First, he says: My father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away, and I went to visit his grave in the cemetery, but I do not know how to greet him and all the deceased. I hope you will clarify this for us. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, visiting graves for the purpose of greeting the deceased, making du'a for them, and seeking forgiveness for them is a prescribed matter and a confirmed Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it by saying: "Visit the graves, for they remind you of the Hereafter." So the purpose of visiting graves is two things. The first is making du'a for the deceased Muslims and seeking forgiveness for them. The second is taking a lesson and drawing a warning from the state of the dead.
So there is a benefit for the living and a benefit for the deceased. The benefit for the living is that he takes a lesson, draws a warning, remembers, and his heart becomes soft. And the benefit for the deceased is that a righteous du'a from his visiting brother reaches him.
The manner of visiting graves and greeting them is that when you approach them, you face the graves, you turn your face toward them, and you say: "Peace be upon you, people of the abode of the Muslims and the believers, and we, if Allah wills, will be joining you. May Allah have mercy on those of us who have gone before and those who come after. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you."
This is for the deceased in the cemetery in general. Then you go to the grave you specifically wish to visit, you stand over it and greet it with the usual greeting for the living: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then you make du'a for him with whatever du'a is easy for you. Face the qiblah, placing the grave between you and the qiblah, and make du'a for the deceased. Then you leave. Yes.
The presenter:
While delivering the greeting to the gathering, the grave is between him and the drum, between him and the Muslim.
The Shaykh:
This is acceptable, and it is acceptable for him to come from the front, and it is acceptable for him to stand and face the qiblah. Yes.
The presenter:
Do you want him standing or sitting?
The Shaykh:
A little of both.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5444- زيارة القبور: مشروعيتها، المقصد منها، صفة الزيارة، كيفية السلام والدعاء لأهلها - صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.