What is the ruling on Muslims praying in al-Masjid al-Nabawi while the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is inside it?

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the good topic you mentioned about al-Masjid al-Nabawi, I would like to ask: what is the ruling on Muslims praying in the mosque now?

The Shaykh : The answer to this same question is written in that book, *Tadhkirat al-Sajid min Ittiyad al-Qubur Masajid* (Warning the Worshipper from Taking Graves as Mosques). In summary, the matter differs between one who prays in al-Masjid al-Nabawi because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A prayer in my mosque is worth a thousand prayers in any other mosque, except al-Masjid al-Haram." This prayer is worth a thousand; there is no debate about that. It differs from one who intends to pray in al-Masjid al-Nabawi because the Messenger is buried there. For that person, the ruling on his prayer oscillates between being completely invalid and being accepted but forbidden. As for the one who comes specifically to pray there facing the grave, he has no prayer at all. An example of this is: a person who specifically intends to pray at the times when prayer is prohibited, which are well known. Naturally, this prayer is invalid. This is unlike the one who does not intend to pray at these times but prays for one reason or more. In that case, even though he prayed at a time that is generally disliked and forbidden, his prayer is valid, unlike the first case. Do you understand?The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : After this detailed explanation, the precise scientific and jurisprudential answer is that the prohibition of praying in mosques built over graves is a matter of blocking the means to harm (*sadd al-dhara'i'*), just as the prohibition of praying at forbidden times is to block the means to harm. It is feared that over time, Muslims will come to worship the sun when it rises, sets, or is in the middle of the sky. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited building mosques over graves and consequently prohibited praying in them. Why? Out of fear that the deceased would be worshipped instead of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This is a reality. If you do not know it, it is a fact. Many mosques have graves that are visited for the sake of the grave. My father (may Allah have mercy on him and forgive us and him) used to accompany me, when I was perhaps before reaching the age of maturity and legal responsibility, to any mosque where he prayed. He would specifically intend to pray in the Umayyad Mosque in our city of Damascus. This mosque is similar to al-Masjid al-Nabawi, even in the way the grave is built and the direction of the grave. Just as the grave in al-Masjid al-Nabawi is located in the eastern direction, so too is the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him) in the Umayyad Mosque located in the eastern direction.

The questioner : Who is Yahya, Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Yahya (peace be upon him) is the well-known prophet. So, may Allah have mercy on him, he would specifically intend to pray in this mosque. And I read in some of what I have read that prayer in this mosque—so they said—Sufyan al-Thawri said that prayer in the Umayyad Mosque is worth seventy thousand prayers. I swear to Allah, when I was of the age you are now, or a little older, I rejected this statement and said, how can this statement be true? The Prophet’s mosque is worth a thousand mosques, and the Umayyad Mosque is worth seventy thousand? And Sufyan al-Thawri did not say the Messenger of Allah said it; Sufyan al-Thawri said it. And when our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) took me by the hand in the path of the knowledge of hadith and the Sunnah, and I found this report in a book called *Tarikh Dimashq* (History of Damascus) by al-Hafiz Ibn Asakir al-Dimashqi. When I came to know about chains of narration and biographies, etc., I found that the chain to Sufyan al-Thawri is broken. And yet, they mention this report in a well-known book to this day called *Hashiyat Ibn Abidin*.
My father (may Allah have mercy on him) was a jurist from the scholars of the Hanafi school. He used to go pray in this mosque considering that prayer there is better. Why? Because a prophet from the prophets is buried there. I do not know if it has reached you that in some books, visiting the grave of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi in Baghdad is called *al-Tariq al-Mujarrab* (the tested antidote). Do you know what *al-Tariq al-Mujarrab* means? It is the medicine that does not fail; its cure is not delayed. That is *al-Tariq al-Mujarrab*. But what do you intend by visiting this grave? It is associating partners with Allah (*shirk*) in the form of anthropomorphism, under the name of visiting the prophets.
We used to hear from some shaykhs in Damascus, and I think this is written: if you have a need, no matter how difficult that need is, and wherever you are, face the grave of our master...The Shaykh : ...Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, and call out, "O Master Abd al-Qadir," and walk seven steps in that direction and ask him for your need, and it will be granted. This is... We were with our father (may Allah have mercy on him) when I grew up and became a bit stronger in the knowledge of hadith and the Sunnah, I noticed this misguidance, which is praying in a mosque that has a grave. I went and wrote a small treatise, perhaps two or three pages in my handwriting. I brought it to the shaykh jurist from whom I studied Hanafi fiqh, whose name was Sa'id al-Barhani. He died, may Allah have him died upon faith. The point is, I presented the treatise to him and said, "I have seen these reports, but I want your opinion on them. Do I understand them or not?" I presented the treatise to him before Ramadan. I got the answer from him after Ramadan. What was the answer? He said, "These reports are not relied upon by us." I said, "The reports I am quoting are all from Hanafi scholars." But he ruined my house with this statement. He said, "We only rely on two books: *Maraqi al-Falah* and *al-Quduri*." And I really am not quoting anything from these two books; I am quoting from other books. Glory be to Allah. I returned from his place... Later, I took this treatise and worked on it. The book that came out of it, which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made beneficial for Muslims in the whole world, is *Tadhkirat al-Sajid min Ittiyad al-Qubur Masajid*. The point is? My father, in the end, returned from the idea that I was following him in, in practice and in thought. I was still a young man. I do not know if he returned from intending to visit mosques for the sake of the graves. He used to say to me, even though there was a disagreement between me and him, because he was Hanafi and I was a Salafi follower of the Sunnah, he would say, "I do not deny that I benefited from you." And he really did benefit from me, because the issue of going to pray Fajr, he would not miss it in the Umayyad Mosque. Why? Because the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him) is there. I wish, I do not know, Allah, I wish the grave of Yahya was buried there. It is not known, because the scholars say that no prophet’s grave is known with certainty in this world except two: the grave of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the grave of Ibrahim al-Khalil (Abraham), with a great difference. The Prophet’s grave is specified in the place where it is, while the grave of Ibrahim al-Khalil is in al-Khalil (Hebron).

The questioner : Not in al-Masjid al-Ibrahimi (Ibrahim’s Mosque).

The Shaykh : No, otherwise you would hear stories from these people who come from there, from al-Khalil. They tell me all sorts of things about the grave of such-and-such a master and the grave of so-and-so, and the prophets are there. But only Ibrahim, and even Ibrahim’s exact location is not known. Now I hear that they consider it what? A prayer place. They pray in Ibrahim’s Mosque.