What is recommended to do when visiting graves?

The questioner : A questioner asks: What is recommended when visiting graves?

The Shaykh : Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) initially forbade visiting graves to prevent shirk (associating partners with Allah). When faith became firmly established in the hearts of people, he commanded it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: In another wording: So when a person visits graves, he should visit them as a reminder, not out of emotion. I mean, some people visit the grave of their father or mother out of emotion, tenderness, and love. And while this is part of human nature, it is better to visit them for the reason mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is to remember the Hereafter and to remember death. Those who are in the graves now were like you yesterday on the surface of the earth, and now they are in their depths, detained by their deeds. They do not possess the ability to add a good deed or remove a bad one. So remember: Is there a known distance between you and this state? Is there a known distance between you and it? I ask you: Is there a known distance between you and being in the grave? No, because you do not know when death will overtake you. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A person does not know when he will die. So when you remember, my brother, remember. Is it not the case that some people went out to work carrying their bags and returned being carried, dead? Is that not so?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : So, we say: Remember death and remember the Hereafter; this is what is required of visiting graves. Now, if someone asks: Is there any virtue in making du'a (supplication) at the graves compared to making du'a in other places? The answer is: No. And whoever intends to visit the graves to make du'a to Allah there has innovated and erred, because the closest place in which du'a is answered is the mosques, the houses of Allah, whereas the graves are not. So if this is the state of the heart during the visit—remembrance—what does one say with the tongue? One says what came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And then he departs. As for the booklets found now that are recited when visiting al-Baqi', they are all bid'ah (religious innovation) except what agrees with the Sunnah. And a person should not trouble himself with something that did not come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) intending to worship Allah with it, because if he does that, he will only increase in distance from Allah. Yes.