Is it permissible for a man to limit his visit to the cemetery to visiting his father's grave only?

The questioner : We are accustomed to hearing people say, for example, that so-and-so went to visit so-and-so among the deceased, meaning he restricted the visit. Is this restriction of the visit to a specific person permissible?

The Shaykh : What do you mean by the word "restrict"?

The questioner : I mean that a man’s father passed away, so he went to visit his father’s grave only. The cemetery, of course, is full of the graves of Muslims, so he restricts this visit to visiting his deceased father.

The Shaykh : I believe that this visit does not earn reward, and it is sufficient for him that he does not commit a sin in it. The visit for which a Muslim earns reward is one done for the sake of taking a lesson and being admonished, remembering death, and making du'a' for the deceased. As is well known from the words of the scholars, particularly Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah and their like, visiting graves is divided into two categories: a legislated visit and an innovated visit. The legislated visit is, in summary, one that conforms to the Shari'ah. When is the visit prescribed? It is prescribed when the visitor intends to benefit from his visit and to benefit the one he visits with his visit. How does he benefit, and how does he benefit the other? He benefits by observing the reason for the legislation of visiting graves, after it had been prohibited, in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him), which is established in Sahih Muslim: And it was reported in other than Sahih Muslim: "for it reminds you of the Hereafter." So any visit from which the visitor does not return with a remembrance of the Hereafter is not legislated, even if he did not do anything else contrary to the Shari'ah. As for what benefits others, it is making du'a' for the deceased. There is nothing with which to make du'a' except what was legislated, or rather, what our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) taught us in many authentic hadiths, including the hadith of Aisha and the hadith of Buraydah and their like, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to say when he visited the graves: And he would sometimes say: So this du'a' for the deceased is what is hoped to bring benefit. If a son visits his father, what does he want from this visit? He should want what we mentioned earlier: to remember the Hereafter for himself and to make du'a' for the one he is visiting. At that point, I do not imagine a Muslim who keeps these two meanings in mind—one concerning the visitor and the other concerning the one visited—would restrict his visit to his father to the exclusion of the deceased Muslims. This is not correct. If he does this, he is an ignorant man, and as I told you at the beginning of the answer, he does not benefit anything from his visit because he did not go to take a lesson or to make du'a'. This is the end of the answer.

The questioner : May Allah reward you.