What is the ruling on visiting graves on the day of Eid?
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Al-Halabi : What is the ruling on visiting graves on the day of Eid?
The Shaykh : The ruling on visiting graves on the day of Eid, just as it is on the day of Jumu'ah, is that there is no one who says it is recommended to visit graves on the day of Jumu'ah. The answer is no. All that is the case is that people have adopted a custom and imagined it to be a Sunnah, whereas it is precisely a religious innovation. This is because one of the principles of Islamic law that a student of knowledge derives from the general evidence of the Book and the Sunnah is that these evidences, when they are absolute, must be implemented in their absolute form, and it is not permissible to restrict them except with evidence of a specific restriction.
The questioner : Peace be upon you
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. It is not permissible to restrict what has come in an absolute form from the texts, except if something comes that restricts it. Conversely, if a text comes restricted by a characteristic, a manner, or a number, it is not permissible to remove this restriction and make it absolute. All of this is contrary to the texts. Since the evidences commanding the visiting of graves are absolute, such as the famous hadith in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 14:141 His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in this hadith and in others as well, is absolute. It should be implemented in its absolute form, and it is not permissible to restrict it to a time for which no restriction has come in the Shari'ah, nor to a characteristic, nor to a manner. If that is the case, then specifying the two Eids for visiting graves is a matter of restricting the absolute without a Shari'ah text. This is an encroachment upon the Wise Lawgiver, and it is feared that one who does so will fall under the warning or the rebuke of our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) of the polytheists in His saying: [Ash-Shuraa 42:21] Therefore, it is not permissible to visit graves specifically on the day of Eid.
The Shaykh : The ruling on visiting graves on the day of Eid, just as it is on the day of Jumu'ah, is that there is no one who says it is recommended to visit graves on the day of Jumu'ah. The answer is no. All that is the case is that people have adopted a custom and imagined it to be a Sunnah, whereas it is precisely a religious innovation. This is because one of the principles of Islamic law that a student of knowledge derives from the general evidence of the Book and the Sunnah is that these evidences, when they are absolute, must be implemented in their absolute form, and it is not permissible to restrict them except with evidence of a specific restriction.
The questioner : Peace be upon you
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. It is not permissible to restrict what has come in an absolute form from the texts, except if something comes that restricts it. Conversely, if a text comes restricted by a characteristic, a manner, or a number, it is not permissible to remove this restriction and make it absolute. All of this is contrary to the texts. Since the evidences commanding the visiting of graves are absolute, such as the famous hadith in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
I used to forbid you from visiting the graves, but now visit them, for they remind you of the Hereafter.
كنت نهيتكم عن زيارة القبور ، ألا فزوروها فإنها تذكّركم الآخرةBut now visit them.
ألا فزورهاOr have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented?
أم لهم شركاء شرعوا لهم من الدّين مالم يأذن به الله
Source
www.al-albany.com
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