Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The reciter: He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "The chapter on the recommendation of visiting graves for men and what the visitor says:
Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

I used to forbid you to visit graves, but (now) visit them.

كنت نهيتكم عن زيارة القبور فزوروها

Sunan an-Nasa'i 5652Sahih (Darussalam)

Muslim narrated it.
In another narration:

Whoever wishes to visit graves, let him visit them, for they remind us of the Hereafter

فمن أراد أن يزور القبور فليزر، فإنها تذكرنا الآخرة

.
And A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

whenever it was her turn for God's messenger to spend the night with her he would go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi' and say, “Peace be upon you, household of a people who are believers. What you were being promised will come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay, and if God will we shall join you. O God, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi' al- Gharqad.”

كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كلما كان ليلتها مِن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، يخرج مِن آخر الليل إلى البقيع فيقول: السلام عليكم دار قوم مؤمنين، وأتاكم ما توعدون غدًا مؤجلون، وإنا إن شاء الله بكم لاحقون، اللهم اغفر لأهل بقيع الغرقد

Mishkat al-Masabih 1766

Muslim narrated it".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "The chapter on visiting graves and its recommendation for men, not women": Visiting graves means going out to them in compliance with, or rather following, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Graves are the dwellings of the dead. This is because a person has four dwellings: the first is in the womb of his mother, the second is the world, the third is the graves, and the fourth is the Hereafter, which is the abode, the end, and the goal. May Allah make us and you among those who succeed in it. This dwelling, I mean the dwelling of the graves, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade visiting it out of fear of associating partners with Allah regarding the people of the graves, because the people were newly converted from the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it to block the means to associating partners with Allah. Since associating partners with Allah is a grave matter, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) blocked every means and every door leading to it. And the greater the sin, the more strictly its means are prohibited. For example, unlawful sexual intercourse is a great sin, and its means, such as looking and seclusion, are forbidden. Associating partners with Allah is the greatest of sins. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: : So they used to venerate the graves, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them from doing so. When faith became established in their hearts, he permitted it, saying: : So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted the prohibition and permitted visiting, and even encouraged it, due to his saying: : And what reminds one of the Hereafter, a person should act upon it, because if the heart forgets the Hereafter, it becomes heedless, preoccupied with the world, and wastes both the world and the Hereafter. For whoever wastes the Hereafter has wasted both the world and the Hereafter. One should visit them, but does one visit the graves to benefit them or to benefit oneself?
The first is to benefit them: to make du'a' for them, not to call upon them. One goes out and greets the graves, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. And A'ishah said: to the end of the hadith. Then he says: : Al-Baqi' al-Gharqad is the cemetery of the people of Madinah. This du'a' is hoped to include those who were among the people of al-Baqi' al-Gharqad until the Day of Resurrection. It is also possible that it refers only to the people of al-Baqi' al-Gharqad who were its inhabitants during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and does not include those who came after them. But whoever is among the people of mercy is among the people of mercy, whether this du'a' reached him or not. And whoever is among the people of misery, this du'a' does not include him and he does not benefit from it.
The important thing is that a person should visit the graves at any time, at night, in the day, in the morning, in the evening, on Friday, or on days other than Friday. It has no specific time. Whenever your heart becomes heedless and your soul becomes immersed in worldly life, go out to the graves and reflect: these people were like you yesterday on earth, eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves. Where have they gone now? They are now bound by their deeds. Nothing benefited them except their deeds, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that: . So reflect on these people, then greet them: Peace be upon you, abode of a people of faith. It appears -and Allah knows best- that they return the greeting, because he greets them with the form of address: Peace be upon you. It is also possible that the greeting is intended as mere du'a' only, whether they hear it or not, whether they respond or not. In any case, the person makes du'a' for them and affirms the inevitable destiny: : If Allah wills, this refers to the time of joining them, not to the joining itself, because joining is certain, and the certain is not conditioned by will. But it refers to the time of joining, because each of us does not know when he will join them. So the meaning of his saying: : is "And we, whenever Allah wills, will be with you." Like His saying: . Then he makes du'a' for them with the du'a' that came in the Sunnah. If he does not know any of it, he makes du'a' with what is easy: "O Allah, forgive them and have mercy on them. O Allah, do not deprive us of their reward, and do not test us after them. And forgive us and them". Then he leaves. This is how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit the cemetery.
As for what some ignorant people do, such as staying there, rolling in the dirt, circumambulating the grave, and the like, all of it is a reprehensible matter and a forbidden religious innovation. If one believes that these dead people benefit or harm, he is one who associates partners with Allah, refuge is sought in Allah, and he has exited Islam, because these dead people do not benefit or harm. They cannot make du'a' for you or intercede for you except by the permission of Allah. And this is not the time of intercession either. The time of intercession is the Day of Resurrection, so they do not benefit you. Nothing from them benefits you if you call upon them or ask them for intercession or the like.
It is obligatory upon our brothers in whose lands this is found, it is obligatory upon them to advise these ignorant people and to make it clear to them that the dead do not benefit them. Even the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not benefit people while he is dead. : When he died, the Companions did not come to him saying: Call upon Allah to give us rain. And his grave is next to the mosque, not far away. But when 'Umar, when the land became barren and drought occurred, said: : meaning they ask the Messenger to call upon Allah for them for rain so that they would be given rain. , and he did not say: O Messenger of Allah, call upon Allah to give us rain, call upon Allah to lift the drought from us. Because he (may Allah be pleased with him) knew that that was not possible. And when a person dies, his deeds are cut off. He cannot do any deed, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So he cannot seek forgiveness for you, nor make du'a' for you, because the deeds are cut off. So the result is that visiting graves is for the benefit of the people of the graves, not for the benefit of the visitor, except in what he receives of reward from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for benefiting from them by visiting them, no. But he benefits from the reward he obtains, and he benefits from the admonition that occurs in his heart if Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) grants him success in taking heed. So we ask Allah (Exalted is He) to make us and you among those who place their hope in Allah.