Is it prescribed to greet the people of the graves when passing by a cemetery that is surrounded by a wall, without seeing the graves?
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The questioner : May Allah reward the honorableThe Shaykh : Some people have written on the walls of certain cemeteries supplications for the deceased and greetings to them. So, when passing by these cemeteries, even though they are enclosed by walls and we do not see or observe the graves, is it prescribed for us to greet the people therein, or what should we do?
The Shaykh : It appears that those who wrote this intended to remind the one entering the cemetery to recite this dhikr. However, the issue remains regarding whether a person should greet them if he merely passes by. There are two possibilities in this matter: either we say he should greet them because it is true that he passed by the cemetery, or we say he should not greet them because, as the questioner stated, he does not see the graves and has not entered the cemetery. For this reason, if a person passes by the house of a living person, meaning he passes by his house while knowing that he is inside, does he greet him? No. But if he enters, he greets him, yes.
The Shaykh : It appears that those who wrote this intended to remind the one entering the cemetery to recite this dhikr. However, the issue remains regarding whether a person should greet them if he merely passes by. There are two possibilities in this matter: either we say he should greet them because it is true that he passed by the cemetery, or we say he should not greet them because, as the questioner stated, he does not see the graves and has not entered the cemetery. For this reason, if a person passes by the house of a living person, meaning he passes by his house while knowing that he is inside, does he greet him? No. But if he enters, he greets him, yes.