Are there specific sunnahs for one who wishes to visit the Prophet's city, particularly at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner asks: Are there specific sunnahs for one who wishes to visit the Prophet's city, particularly at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh : Yes. The Prophet's city, may the best of peace and the purest of greetings be upon its inhabitant, peace and blessings be upon him. Visiting it is prescribed, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): May Allah the Exalted save him from the hands of the oppressive Jews. When you arrive in the city, the most important thing to start with is to pray in the mosque, whether you pray one obligatory prayer, two, or stay for a day or two; there is nothing specified. Then you proceed to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and the graves of his two companions, Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). You stand facing the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the qiblah behind you, and you greet him. What do you say? I answer you, everyone: the best greeting to send to the Messenger is what he taught his ummah: "Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings". The greeting ends there; there is no need for the long rhyming verses that people have innovated. "Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then you take a step to your right to face Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and say: "Peace be upon you, O successor of the Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings". Then you take a step to your right to face 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and say: "Peace be upon you, O Commander of the Faithful, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings". The visit is complete; you exit the mosque. Why did we arrange it this way? Because the foremost grave is the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and behind it is the grave of Abu Bakr, with the head of Abu Bakr aligned with the chest of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And behind the grave of Abu Bakr is the grave of 'Umar, with his head aligned with the chest of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). You go to al-Baqi' and the first grave you visit is the grave of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), which is well known. You stand facing it and say: "Peace be upon you, O Commander of the Faithful, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings". You walk, but when you enter al-Baqi', the first thing you do is send a general greeting: "Peace be upon you, O people of this abode, from among the believers and Muslims. And we, if Allah wills, are to follow you. May Allah have mercy on those of you who have gone before and those who come after. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you. May Allah not deprive us of their reward, nor test us after them, and forgive us and them". The visit to al-Baqi' is complete. You purify yourself in your house and go out to the Mosque of Quba, where you pray two rak'ahs or as much as you wish, and then return. The Mosque of Quba has no specific supplication other than that of other mosques. What else do we have? The martyrs of Uhud. You go out to Uhud and greet the martyrs there, foremost among them being Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). You greet them with the greeting for ordinary graves, and then return. Is there anything else? The visitation sites are finished. So how many are there now? The Prophet's Mosque, the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the graves of his two companions, al-Baqi', Quba, and Uhud. Five. And there are absolutely no other visitation sites. This is the description of the visit to the Prophet's city. I seek forgiveness from Allah the Great and turn to Him in repentance. The Prophet's city or the Blessed City? Some say the Blessed City, and some say the Prophet's city. But people say the Blessed City. Which expression is more appropriate? "Prophet's city" is more appropriate, because this is the expression of the previous scholars. Read al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya by Ibn Kathir and other books of history, and you will find "the Prophet's city." By this, it is distinguished from other lands, as it is the seat of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his state was established there, and his grave is there, peace and blessings be upon him. But the Blessed City: every city that Islam entered is blessed, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: So whenever the ruling of this Noble Book is established in a land, it is blessed. And although it is linguistically permissible to use the general term to mean the specific, as the grammarians said regarding "the Book": what is "the Book"? When "the Book" is used absolutely, it includes every book. But among the grammarians, when they say: "He said in the Book", they mean the Book of Sibawayh.