What is the ruling on facing the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after prayer, in the posture of a worshipper, to greet him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. This questioner says: “Your Eminence, a phenomenon has spread recently in the Prophet’s Mosque. He says: After one of them finishes performing the prayer, he stands up and turns toward the grave of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and begins to greet him, lowering his head to the ground. You observe in him humility and reverence. When you ask him the reason for doing this, he answers that he does it as a sign of respect toward the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The question is: Is this action permissible, and what do we say to them if it is not permissible?”
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that it is obligatory to show respect when greeting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) by lowering one’s voice and standing while keeping the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in mind, as if he were present, and not raising one’s voice near him. As for standing in reverence as one reveres the Lord of the Worlds, this is not permissible. In fact, it was said to me that some of them show more reverence before the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) than they do in their prayer, and this is an error. One must only show respect when greeting the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This crowding that we find now was not known among the Salaf. The Salaf did not visit him at every prayer; rather, they would greet him occasionally. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) would greet him when he arrived from a journey, but not otherwise. As for some people now going to crowd the people every time they pray an obligatory prayer, and perhaps not showing respect at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), this is an error. If you are here and you say, “Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah’s mercy and blessings,” do you not know that your greeting reaches him? Answer.
The student : Yes
The Shaykh : No.
The student : Yes
The Shaykh : Yes. Well, a questioner asked me, saying: “So-and-so, when he learned that I was coming to Medina, said: ‘Please, convey my greetings to the Messenger.’” Is this correct? It is not correct, because greeting the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is an act of worship, and one does not delegate acts of worship. Can you tell a person, “By Allah, I am tired today and sleepy, please perform the ablution for me”? And tell another, “I am tired and cannot pray; I am afraid of drowsiness, please pray for me”? Is it permissible for one person to perform the ablution for another and for one person to pray for another?
The student: It is not permissible
The Shaykh : It is not permissible. So, greeting the Messenger is an act of worship. How can you say, “Convey my greetings to him”? Then we say: Your greeting will be conveyed in a more reliable way than by this man you entrusted. Who conveys it? The angels. A person’s greeting to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is conveyed by the angels from wherever he is on earth. The angels are trustworthy and powerful; we know that they will perform this duty. But if you entrust a person, he might die, he might forget, or he might be told that this is not appropriate and he might leave it. So, greet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and be confident that your greeting reaches him wherever you are.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that it is obligatory to show respect when greeting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) by lowering one’s voice and standing while keeping the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in mind, as if he were present, and not raising one’s voice near him. As for standing in reverence as one reveres the Lord of the Worlds, this is not permissible. In fact, it was said to me that some of them show more reverence before the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) than they do in their prayer, and this is an error. One must only show respect when greeting the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This crowding that we find now was not known among the Salaf. The Salaf did not visit him at every prayer; rather, they would greet him occasionally. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) would greet him when he arrived from a journey, but not otherwise. As for some people now going to crowd the people every time they pray an obligatory prayer, and perhaps not showing respect at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), this is an error. If you are here and you say, “Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah’s mercy and blessings,” do you not know that your greeting reaches him? Answer.
The student : Yes
The Shaykh : No.
The student : Yes
The Shaykh : Yes. Well, a questioner asked me, saying: “So-and-so, when he learned that I was coming to Medina, said: ‘Please, convey my greetings to the Messenger.’” Is this correct? It is not correct, because greeting the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is an act of worship, and one does not delegate acts of worship. Can you tell a person, “By Allah, I am tired today and sleepy, please perform the ablution for me”? And tell another, “I am tired and cannot pray; I am afraid of drowsiness, please pray for me”? Is it permissible for one person to perform the ablution for another and for one person to pray for another?
The student: It is not permissible
The Shaykh : It is not permissible. So, greeting the Messenger is an act of worship. How can you say, “Convey my greetings to him”? Then we say: Your greeting will be conveyed in a more reliable way than by this man you entrusted. Who conveys it? The angels. A person’s greeting to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is conveyed by the angels from wherever he is on earth. The angels are trustworthy and powerful; we know that they will perform this duty. But if you entrust a person, he might die, he might forget, or he might be told that this is not appropriate and he might leave it. So, greet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and be confident that your greeting reaches him wherever you are.