Types of Visiting Graves and the Ruling on Each Type

Question:
May Allah reward you. We move on to a message received from Abu Hammam from Yemen. He says: Honorable Shaykh, visiting graves for healing, and that is through the blessing of the wali (close friend of Allah) who is capable, this is what we have among us. If the callers to Allah deny that, people say, after debate, that this is merely from the cause that you say occurs when going to doctors. We ask you, Honorable Shaykh, to clarify the Sunnah (recommended practice) regarding this, may you be rewarded.

Answer:
Visiting graves is of two types: a prescribed, recommended visit, which is visiting graves for reflection, taking a lesson, and making du'a' (supplication) for the Muslim dead. This is a prescribed, recommended visit, and there is reward in it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit graves, make du'a' for the dead, and seek forgiveness for them.
The second type is a visit characterized by shirk (associating partners with Allah), involving supplications of shirk. This is visiting graves in order to seek blessing from the dead, or to call upon them for aid, or to ask them for one's needs. This is a visit of shirk, because it involves supplicating to other than Allah, calling for aid from other than Allah, and seeking blessing and needs from other than Allah, from the dead, instead of from Him. This is not one of the causes that people claim it to be; it is not a cause. Allah did not make visiting graves a means for seeking blessing or calling for aid, nor did He make it a cause for attaining what is sought. The causes are those that Allah has made causes and permitted. Allah has forbidden that: He has forbidden supplicating to other than Him, forbidden seeking blessing from other than Him, and forbidden calling for aid from the dead. Therefore, this is forbidden (haram), and it is not a permissible cause. Yes.