I saw a man making du'a facing the grave of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), so I rebuked him, and one of them said to me, "Leave him alone; he is only exercising ijtihad (independent legal reasoning)."

The questioner:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, says: I saw a man in al-Madinah reading from a book of supplications while facing the wall of the grave, meaning the grave of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So I rebuked him for this action and explained to him that it is not permissible. He accepted, but there was a man who rebuked me for this rebuke and said, "Leave him alone; he is only exercising ijtihad." Is his rebuke of me correct?

The Shaykh:
He is wrong.

The questioner:
He rebuked me for rebuking that man and said that he is exercising ijtihad.

The Shaykh:
This is a liar and this is a mistake. The one who rebukes a wrong in which there is ijtihad—this is a wrong: making du'a facing the grave. This is a wrong, and there is no ijtihad in it that makes it permissible. So your rebuke is in its proper place, and may Allah reward you with good. And he alerted him that he is mistaken and that he should not return to something like this. Yes.