What is the wisdom behind visiting graves?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Regarding visiting graves.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: Regarding visiting graves, naturally not necessarily during the festival; at any time; does one visit the graves of their deceased, or generally, I mean?
The Shaykh: Both are permissible with one condition: that one does not trample the graves with their shoes. I do not think that today anyone would take off their shoes and walk in their nylon socks just to reach their father’s or mother’s grave; therefore, keep it at a distance and throw this greeting.
Another questioner: ... it benefits them while he is in his home.
The questioner: If he recites the Qur'an?
The Shaykh: ... so that you benefit.
The questioner: Visiting graves benefits the visitor, not the one visited.
The Shaykh: No, no, it becomes both, but the primary intent regarding visiting graves is for the living, not the dead, but the dead also benefit from their supplications as we said.
The questioner: There is more humility in the supplication.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Therefore, people turned the visit into another matter; they do not think that they are admonished by visiting the dead, nor do they think that they benefit the dead with their supplications, but rather they benefit from seeking nearness to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) through them, and Allah says in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an:[Al-Baqarah 2:186], this is a verse abrogated by the system of the Muslims!! Put your hand, do you hear the phrase? I spoke and visited the Prophet and placed my hand on his window, do you know it or not? But what is this? What does it represent? What is in the hearts of these people who say they placed their hand on his window? It is like one who clings to his belt, one who found ... and clung to the belt of a strong man who goes ... meaning they inverted the legal realities in a ... very, very [manner]; therefore, we do not rejoice much in the old Islamic phenomenon except in one aspect, that there was modesty, there was dignity, there was morality, and so on, this today - unfortunately - is not present, but as for the religion? No, the religion was rotten in those days!!
...
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: Regarding visiting graves, naturally not necessarily during the festival; at any time; does one visit the graves of their deceased, or generally, I mean?
The Shaykh: Both are permissible with one condition: that one does not trample the graves with their shoes. I do not think that today anyone would take off their shoes and walk in their nylon socks just to reach their father’s or mother’s grave; therefore, keep it at a distance and throw this greeting.
Another questioner: ... it benefits them while he is in his home.
The questioner: If he recites the Qur'an?
The Shaykh: ... so that you benefit.
The questioner: Visiting graves benefits the visitor, not the one visited.
The Shaykh: No, no, it becomes both, but the primary intent regarding visiting graves is for the living, not the dead, but the dead also benefit from their supplications as we said.
The questioner: There is more humility in the supplication.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Therefore, people turned the visit into another matter; they do not think that they are admonished by visiting the dead, nor do they think that they benefit the dead with their supplications, but rather they benefit from seeking nearness to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) through them, and Allah says in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an:
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.