Explaining the Purpose of Visiting Graves
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : We praise Him and seek His help and ask His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own selves and from the evil of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whoever He misleads, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.
[Ali 'Imran 3:102]
[An-Nisa 4:1] .
[Al-Ahzab 33:70-71] .
As for what follows:
For the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
So, by the indication of this hadith, visiting graves must include admonition and a lesson from the visit. This means that it is not permissible to visit graves for any other purpose, such as wailing, crying, shouting, or making the graves into gathering places, as they do in many Syrian countries and elsewhere, where they intend to visit these graves on the first three days. This contradicts the purpose of the visit, as you have heard.
This is something explained in the hadith itself, where the Messenger (peace be upon him) clarifies the purpose of the command to visit graves after the prohibition of doing so. Likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies for us the etiquette of the visit and what the Muslim says when he visits the graves. He greets those in the graves and says:Sahih Ibn Hibban 11:286.
So, another purpose of the legislation of visiting graves is supplication for the visitor and the visited,. If the visit departs from these two purposes—these two matters: the lesson and admonition, and supplication for well-being and safety—then it is a non-legitimate visit; it is an innovative visit. This means, a fortiori, that if the visit becomes intended for seeking blessing, for seeking supplication from them, or for calling upon them for aid, there is no doubt that this is further and further from being such a legitimate visit; rather, it is an innovative visit involving associating partners with Allah.
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمونO mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.
يا أيها الناس اتقوا ربكم الذي خلقكم من نفس واحدة وخلق منها زوجها وبث منهما رجالاً كثيراً ونساء واتقوا الله الذي تساءلون به والأرحام إن الله كان عليكم رقيباً(70) O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. (71) He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا * يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيماًAs for what follows:
For the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
So, by the indication of this hadith, visiting graves must include admonition and a lesson from the visit. This means that it is not permissible to visit graves for any other purpose, such as wailing, crying, shouting, or making the graves into gathering places, as they do in many Syrian countries and elsewhere, where they intend to visit these graves on the first three days. This contradicts the purpose of the visit, as you have heard
For it reminds you of the Hereafter.
فإنها تذكركم الآخرةThis is something explained in the hadith itself, where the Messenger (peace be upon him) clarifies the purpose of the command to visit graves after the prohibition of doing so. Likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies for us the etiquette of the visit and what the Muslim says when he visits the graves. He greets those in the graves and says:
Peace be upon you, people of the believers' abode, and we, if Allah wills, will be joining you. You are our predecessors, and we are your followers. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you. O Allah, forgive them. O Allah, have mercy on them.
السلام عليكم أهل قوم مؤمنين ، وإنا إن شاء الله بكم لاحقون ، أنتم لنا فَرَط ، ونحن لكم تَبَع، نسأل الله لنا ولكم العافية ، اللهم اغفر لهم، اللهم ارحمهمSo, another purpose of the legislation of visiting graves is supplication for the visitor and the visited,