How do we respond to those who permit traveling to graves?

The questioner : We have the leaders of the innovators who invalidate the use of this hadith as evidence for prohibiting the visitation of graves. They say that there is no mention of a grave in it at all; rather, it is a prohibition for the one who travels to a mosque other than these mosques. As for graves, they cite the statement that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought permission from his Lord to visit his mother’s grave, and He granted it to him. This kind of argument is not refuted by this hadith; that is, they confuse the people and speak as if it were the truth. How is this doubt refuted?

The Shaykh : After all, any travel intended to draw near to Allah to a specific place falls under this. If we looked at the apparent wording, “Do not travel except to the three mosques,” we would say the prohibition is on traveling to mosques other than the three. But if we take into account analogical reasoning and meaning, there is no difference between traveling to one of the mosques or to a place you consider blessed or the like. Is that correct? And did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) travel to his mother? Perhaps he traveled, or perhaps he sought permission while on the way to Makkah? We do not know.

The questioner : When you cited, Shaykh, the visitation of graves as evidence for the prohibition by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited the visitation of mosques where the intention is to worship Allah alone, and there is no cause among the causes that it is a means among the means that one learns the meaning of shirk (associating partners with Allah), which are the known matters. The intention is to disperse. What is the Arabic meaning? How do we analogize this to that?

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, this is a point. We say: If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited traveling to mosques, even though they are places of worship and there is no fear of shirk (associating partners with Allah) in them, then traveling to graves is all the more so, because traveling to graves will result in exalting these graves and considering them worthy of being traveled to. Then, there may be a specific person in this cemetery to whom one travels, and this ultimately leads to worshipping him and associating partners with Allah. Yes.