Reading from the author's words, with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "And how excellent is what Malik said
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The reader: "And how excellent is what Malik said: 'The end of this Ummah will not be rectified except by what rectified its beginning.' But whenever the nations' adherence to the covenants of their prophets weakened, and their faith diminished, they compensated for it with the innovations, shirk (associating partners with Allah), and other things they introduced. For this reason, the Imams disliked touching the grave and kissing it, and they built a structure that prevented people from reaching it. So the chamber of 'A'ishah, in which he was buried, was separate from his mosque, and the area between his pulpit and his house was the Rawdah. The matter continued thus during the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and those after them. Additions were made to the mosque and it was altered, but the chamber remained as it was, along with the other chambers surrounding the mosque to its east and front, until al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik built it. 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz was his governor in al-Madinah, so he purchased these chambers and altered them".
The Shaykh : and others.
The reader: "So he purchased these chambers and others, demolished them, and incorporated them into the mosque. Some scholars disliked this, such as Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, while others did not dislike it.. He said: 'And they narrate it from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib regarding the pomegranate.' I said: 'And they narrate from Yahya ibn Sa'id that when he intended to leave for Iraq, he came to the pulpit, rubbed against it, and made du'a' (supplication). I saw him approve of it, then he said: 'Perhaps it is in cases of dire necessity and the like.' It was said to Abu 'Abdullah: 'They press their bellies against the wall of the grave'".
The Shaykh : and others.
The reader: "So he purchased these chambers and others, demolished them, and incorporated them into the mosque. Some scholars disliked this, such as Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, while others did not dislike it.