The Ruling on Approaching the Grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Some people say that our scholars exaggerate in preventing people from approaching the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Why do they prevent people, when the Prophet said, “O Allah, do not make my grave an idol to be worshipped”? This is a supplication, and the supplication of the Prophet is answered. So what is your response to that?
Answer:
The professor returned to this. He asks: Why do the scholars prevent people from approaching? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do not make my grave a place of festivity." They prevented them for this reason: so that the grave is not made a place of gathering, a place of response, or a place of habitual visitation. What is prescribed is to greet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when one arrives from a journey. If one arrives from a journey, and if he prays in the Prophet’s Mosque—whether it is an obligatory prayer or if he is an employee who goes there and then leaves—he should go and greet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions. The greeting should be to the extent of saying, "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah, and Allah’s mercy and blessings." If he describes him with the attributes by which Allah described him, such as conveying the message, fulfilling the trust, advising the nation, and striving in the path of Allah, that is necessary, as these are His attributes (Glorified and Exalted is He). Then he moves back and greets Abu Bakr. He moves back toward the east and greets Abu Bakr, at the distance of an arm’s length, an arm’s length. Then he moves back another arm’s length and greets 'Umar. Then he advises. As for sitting, or rubbing against the chamber, or seeking permission, or making du'a' at the chamber, or testifying, this is forbidden, because this is making the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a place of festivity, because they say... or facing his sin when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) occurred. Everyone is behind the others, and if his head or the skin of 'Umar is near the house of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).
Some people say that our scholars exaggerate in preventing people from approaching the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Why do they prevent people, when the Prophet said, “O Allah, do not make my grave an idol to be worshipped”? This is a supplication, and the supplication of the Prophet is answered. So what is your response to that?
Answer:
The professor returned to this. He asks: Why do the scholars prevent people from approaching? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do not make my grave a place of festivity." They prevented them for this reason: so that the grave is not made a place of gathering, a place of response, or a place of habitual visitation. What is prescribed is to greet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when one arrives from a journey. If one arrives from a journey, and if he prays in the Prophet’s Mosque—whether it is an obligatory prayer or if he is an employee who goes there and then leaves—he should go and greet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions. The greeting should be to the extent of saying, "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah, and Allah’s mercy and blessings." If he describes him with the attributes by which Allah described him, such as conveying the message, fulfilling the trust, advising the nation, and striving in the path of Allah, that is necessary, as these are His attributes (Glorified and Exalted is He). Then he moves back and greets Abu Bakr. He moves back toward the east and greets Abu Bakr, at the distance of an arm’s length, an arm’s length. Then he moves back another arm’s length and greets 'Umar. Then he advises. As for sitting, or rubbing against the chamber, or seeking permission, or making du'a' at the chamber, or testifying, this is forbidden, because this is making the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a place of festivity, because they say... or facing his sin when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) occurred. Everyone is behind the others, and if his head or the skin of 'Umar is near the house of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).
Source
الفوزان -أشرطة- أسئلة وأجوبة من دروس التوحيد - الفوزان - أسئلة التوحيد - ٣ — archive.org (1:16:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.