Etiquette of Visiting the Grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Ruling on Traveling for It
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, what are the etiquettes of visiting the grave of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? And what is the ruling on traveling for the sake of visiting? May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, it is not permissible to travel for the sake of visiting graves, neither the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the grave of anyone else. Rather, the visit is for the sake of the mosque, praying in the Prophet’s Mosque. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 326Sahih (Darussalam) Bulugh al-Maram 5:58
So travel is only for the sake of praying in these three mosques. As for visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is included as a secondary matter. If one travels to pray in the Mosque of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it is recommended for him to greet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with etiquette and a lowered voice, saying: "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," facing the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he moves back slightly toward the east and says: "Peace be upon you, O Abu Bakr al-Siddiq," because he is opposite Abu Bakr after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he moves back slightly toward the east and says: "Peace be upon you, O 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then he departs. And if he says when greeting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I bear witness that you conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the nation"[Al-Hajj 22:78], there is no harm in that, because this is among his attributes (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, what are the etiquettes of visiting the grave of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? And what is the ruling on traveling for the sake of visiting? May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, it is not permissible to travel for the sake of visiting graves, neither the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the grave of anyone else. Rather, the visit is for the sake of the mosque, praying in the Prophet’s Mosque. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
A mount is not saddled (for a journey) except to
لا تشد الرحال إلا إلىthree mosques: al-Masque al-Haram (in Makkah ), the Aqsa mosque, or this mosque (in Madinah).
ثلاثة مساجد المسجد الحرام ومسجدي هذا والمسجد الأقصى.So travel is only for the sake of praying in these three mosques. As for visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is included as a secondary matter. If one travels to pray in the Mosque of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it is recommended for him to greet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with etiquette and a lowered voice, saying: "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," facing the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he moves back slightly toward the east and says: "Peace be upon you, O Abu Bakr al-Siddiq," because he is opposite Abu Bakr after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he moves back slightly toward the east and says: "Peace be upon you, O 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then he departs. And if he says when greeting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I bear witness that you conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the nation"
And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him
وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/057 — archive.org (0:52)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.