Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "Chapter: As for the stations of the prophets and the righteous
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The reader: "Chapter: As for the stations of the prophets and the righteous, which are the places where they stood, or resided, or worshipped Allah the Exalted, but they did not make them mosques; what has reached me regarding this are two opinions from the renowned scholars:
The first is: the prohibition of it and its being disliked, and that it is not recommended to intend a place for worship, unless intending it for worship is something established by the Shari'ah, such as: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intending it for worship, as he intended prayer at the Station of Ibrahim, and as he used to seek prayer at the pillar, and as one intends the mosques for prayer, and intends the first row and the like.
The second opinion is: that there is no harm in a little of that, as it is reported from Ibn 'Umar that he used to seek the places that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) traversed, even if the Prophet had traversed them by coincidence, not by intention.
Sindi al-Khawtami said: We asked Abu 'Abdullah about a man who comes to these shrines and goes to them; do you see that? He said: As for the hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum: that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray in his house so that it would be made a place of prayer, and as for what Ibn 'Umar used to do, tracking the places of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his trace, there is no harm in a man coming to the shrines, except that the people have greatly exaggerated in this and done too much in it".
The Shaykh : Who narrated the hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum?
The reader: The one you referred to, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Subhan, your copies? Because it is known that it is 'Atban ibn Malik.
The reader: I think I saw it, O Shaykh, in Sahih Muslim.
The Shaykh : The hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum?
The Reciter: Yes.
The Shaykh : Verify it for us.
The reader: If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : With them, if Allah wills, meaning tomorrow or the day after.
The reader: "There is no harm in a man coming to the shrines, except that the people have greatly exaggerated in this and done too much in it, and likewise it was reported from Ahmad ibn al-Qasim: that he was asked about a man who comes to these shrines in Madinah and elsewhere, going to them? He said: " As for the hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum: that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to come to him and pray in his house so that he would make it a mosque, and as for what Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to do: he used to track the places of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) journey, until it was seen that he would pour water in a place, and he would be asked about it. He said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pour water here. He said: As for this, there is no harm. He said: And he permitted it, then said: But the people have greatly exaggerated and done too much in this matter, so he mentioned the grave of al-Husayn and what people do at it. Al-Khallal narrated both in his book of Adab.
Thus Abu 'Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) distinguished between the shrines, which are the places containing the traces of the prophets and the righteous, without them being their mosques, such as places in Madinah, between the little which they do not make a festival, and the much which they make a festival, as mentioned previously.
And this distinction combines the athar and the sayings of the Companions, for al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih, from Musa ibn 'Uqbah, who said: I saw Salim ibn 'Abdullah seeking places on the road, and praying in them, and he reported that his father used to pray in them, and that he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praying in those places. Musa said: And Nafi' told me that Ibn 'Umar used to pray in those places.
This is as Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him) permitted.
As for what he disliked: Sa'id ibn Mansur narrated in his Sunan, Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, al-A'mash narrated to us, from Ma'rur ibn Suwayd, from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: We went out with him on a Hajj he performed, and he recited for us in the Fajr prayer[Al-Fil 105:1] and in the second rak'ah. When he returned from his Hajj, he saw the people rushing into the mosque and said: What is this? They said: It is the mosque in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed. He said: This is how the People of the Book before you perished; they took the sites of their prophets as places of worship. If prayer is offered to you in it, pray, and if prayer is not offered to you in it, pass by, for I dislike it.
The first is: the prohibition of it and its being disliked, and that it is not recommended to intend a place for worship, unless intending it for worship is something established by the Shari'ah, such as: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intending it for worship, as he intended prayer at the Station of Ibrahim, and as he used to seek prayer at the pillar, and as one intends the mosques for prayer, and intends the first row and the like.
The second opinion is: that there is no harm in a little of that, as it is reported from Ibn 'Umar that he used to seek the places that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) traversed, even if the Prophet had traversed them by coincidence, not by intention.
Sindi al-Khawtami said: We asked Abu 'Abdullah about a man who comes to these shrines and goes to them; do you see that? He said: As for the hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum: that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray in his house so that it would be made a place of prayer, and as for what Ibn 'Umar used to do, tracking the places of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his trace, there is no harm in a man coming to the shrines, except that the people have greatly exaggerated in this and done too much in it".
The Shaykh : Who narrated the hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum?
The reader: The one you referred to, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Subhan, your copies? Because it is known that it is 'Atban ibn Malik.
The reader: I think I saw it, O Shaykh, in Sahih Muslim.
The Shaykh : The hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum?
The Reciter: Yes.
The Shaykh : Verify it for us.
The reader: If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : With them, if Allah wills, meaning tomorrow or the day after.
The reader: "There is no harm in a man coming to the shrines, except that the people have greatly exaggerated in this and done too much in it, and likewise it was reported from Ahmad ibn al-Qasim: that he was asked about a man who comes to these shrines in Madinah and elsewhere, going to them? He said: " As for the hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum: that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to come to him and pray in his house so that he would make it a mosque, and as for what Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to do: he used to track the places of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) journey, until it was seen that he would pour water in a place, and he would be asked about it. He said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pour water here. He said: As for this, there is no harm. He said: And he permitted it, then said: But the people have greatly exaggerated and done too much in this matter, so he mentioned the grave of al-Husayn and what people do at it. Al-Khallal narrated both in his book of Adab.
Thus Abu 'Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) distinguished between the shrines, which are the places containing the traces of the prophets and the righteous, without them being their mosques, such as places in Madinah, between the little which they do not make a festival, and the much which they make a festival, as mentioned previously.
And this distinction combines the athar and the sayings of the Companions, for al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih, from Musa ibn 'Uqbah, who said: I saw Salim ibn 'Abdullah seeking places on the road, and praying in them, and he reported that his father used to pray in them, and that he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praying in those places. Musa said: And Nafi' told me that Ibn 'Umar used to pray in those places.
This is as Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him) permitted.
As for what he disliked: Sa'id ibn Mansur narrated in his Sunan, Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, al-A'mash narrated to us, from Ma'rur ibn Suwayd, from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: We went out with him on a Hajj he performed, and he recited for us in the Fajr prayer