What the Visitor to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Does

Question: What should the pilgrim do in al-Madinah, and what is the difference between visiting the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) grave and circumambulating it?

Answer: It is a recommended practice (sunnah) for one who visits al-Madinah to head to the mosque and pray two rak'ahs or more in it, to increase his prayers in it, to increase his remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Qur'an, and to attend circles of knowledge. If it is easy for him to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for as long as he wishes, that is good. He should also greet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions.
This is what is prescribed for the visitor to al-Madinah. If he stays there for periods of time and prays in the Prophet’s Mosque, that is a great good; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So prayer in his (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque is multiplied.
As for what has become widespread among people that the visitor stays for eight days so that he prays forty prayers, this, although it has been narrated in some hadiths: , is a weak hadith according to the scholars of verification, and no proof is established by it; because a person who is not known for hadith and narration has narrated it alone, and those who do not rely on his authentication when he narrates alone have authenticated it.
So the conclusion is that the hadith regarding the virtue of forty prayers in the Prophet’s Mosque is a weak hadith that is not relied upon. The visit has no fixed limit, and if he visits for an hour or two, or a day or two, or more than that, there is nothing wrong with it.
It is recommended for the visitor to visit al-Baqi' and greet its inhabitants and pray for them with forgiveness and mercy.
It is also recommended for him to visit the martyrs and pray for them with forgiveness and mercy.
It is also recommended for him to purify himself in his house and perform the purification well, then visit the Mosque of Quba and pray two rak'ahs in it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit it. As for circumambulating the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) grave, this is not permissible. If he circumambulates with the intention of drawing near to the Prophet, that is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah . Circumambulation is an act of worship around the Ka'bah that is not suitable for anyone but Allah alone. Whoever circumambulates the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) grave or the grave of any other person to draw near to them through circumambulation becomes one who associates partners with Allah . And if he thinks it is obedience to Allah and does it for His sake to draw near to Him through it, it becomes a bid'ah (religious innovation).
And so is the ruling on circumambulating the grave of anyone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as the grave of al-Husayn, or al-Badawi in Egypt, or Ibn Arabi in the Levant, or the grave of the Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, or Musa al-Kazim in Iraq, or others.
We should distinguish between visiting the deceased and worshipping Allah alone. Worship is for Allah alone, and the deceased is visited to remember the Hereafter, to have asceticism in this world, and to pray for him and seek mercy for him. As for worshipping him besides Allah, or calling upon him besides Allah, or seeking aid from him or the like of that, that is not permissible; rather, it is among the forbidden matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah). We ask Allah for us and for all Muslims to be protected from that. May Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his companions.