What is the ruling on making du'a' when passing by a cemetery in a car?
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The questioner : Is it prescribed for one passing by a cemetery in a car to recite the prescribed Islamic greeting for the deceased?
The Shaykh : There is, of course, no specific text in this matter, and by a specific text I mean an authentic hadith. However, there is a hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi which means: "When one of you passes by the cemeteries, let him say: Peace be upon you, abode of the people of faith," up to the end of the well-known supplication. However, this specific wording is weak and not authentic—specifically regarding passing by. Nevertheless, as you know, the purpose of encouraging visiting graves, after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) initially forbade it, is for the benefit of both the visitor and the visited. The visited benefits from the visitor's supplication, and the visitor benefits by reflecting on death.
There is no doubt—and peace be upon you—that some of these two benefits are achieved even by merely passing by. However, the full lesson for the visitor is not obtained unless he specifically intends to visit the cemeteries, rather than just passing by.
This is what I have, and Allah knows best.
Yes.
The Shaykh : There is, of course, no specific text in this matter, and by a specific text I mean an authentic hadith. However, there is a hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi which means: "When one of you passes by the cemeteries, let him say: Peace be upon you, abode of the people of faith," up to the end of the well-known supplication. However, this specific wording is weak and not authentic—specifically regarding passing by. Nevertheless, as you know, the purpose of encouraging visiting graves, after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) initially forbade it, is for the benefit of both the visitor and the visited. The visited benefits from the visitor's supplication, and the visitor benefits by reflecting on death.
There is no doubt—and peace be upon you—that some of these two benefits are achieved even by merely passing by. However, the full lesson for the visitor is not obtained unless he specifically intends to visit the cemeteries, rather than just passing by.
This is what I have, and Allah knows best.
Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.