What is prescribed when visiting graves and what is not prescribed
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Question:
The listener, Mahmoud Mazhar Hamad from Iraq, Nineveh, sent a question saying: Is it permissible to recite al-Fatihah when I arrive at the cemetery, or to recite al-Fatihah after the visit?
Answer:
Reciting al-Fatihah or any other surah is not prescribed. When a believer visits graves, he should only greet them; that is what is prescribed. As for reciting al-Fatihah or other parts of the Qur'an, there is no basis for this. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 777a, so graves are not a place for prayer, nor a place for recitation. He also said: Sahih Muslim 780, so the place for the Qur'an is mosques and homes, not graves. Therefore, one does not recite in the cemetery, neither al-Fatihah nor anything else.
The narrations that some people report regarding recitation in cemeteries and that it benefits the dead, all of this has no basis. All of it has no basis; they are all not authentic. The Sunnah for one who visits graves is to greet them with the prescribed greeting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his Companions, when they visited graves, to say:Sunan Ibn Majah 1547Sahih (Darussalam) He did not teach them to recite al-Fatihah or other parts of the Qur'an. This is how he taught them, saying to them: Sunan Ibn Majah 1547Sahih (Darussalam) And he (peace and blessings be upon him), when he visited them, would say: Sunan Abi Dawud 3237Sahih (Al-Albani) In another narration: Sunan an-Nasa'i 2037Sahih (Darussalam) These are the supplications said during the visit: Sunan Abi Dawud 3237Sahih (Al-Albani), Sunan an-Nasa'i 2037Sahih (Darussalam), Sunan Ibn Majah 1547Sahih (Darussalam), Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1053Da'if (Darussalam), and similar words. This is the Sunnah. As for recitation, no, there is no basis for it and it is not prescribed. Yes.
The presenter : Not before the visit, and not after it?
The Shaykh : Not during the visit, not while visiting, and not after the visit in the cemetery, I mean. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.
The listener, Mahmoud Mazhar Hamad from Iraq, Nineveh, sent a question saying: Is it permissible to recite al-Fatihah when I arrive at the cemetery, or to recite al-Fatihah after the visit?
Answer:
Reciting al-Fatihah or any other surah is not prescribed. When a believer visits graves, he should only greet them; that is what is prescribed. As for reciting al-Fatihah or other parts of the Qur'an, there is no basis for this. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Observe some of your prayers in your houses and do not make them graves.
اجعلوا من صلاتكم في بيوتكم، ولا تتخذوها قبورًاSatan runs away from the house in which Surah Baqara is recited.
إن الشيطان يفر من البيت الذي تقرأ فيه سورة البقرةThe narrations that some people report regarding recitation in cemeteries and that it benefits the dead, all of this has no basis. All of it has no basis; they are all not authentic. The Sunnah for one who visits graves is to greet them with the prescribed greeting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his Companions, when they visited graves, to say:
As-salamu ‘alaykum ahlad-diyar minal-mu’minina wal- muslimin, wa inna insha’ Allah bikum lahiqun, nas’alul-laha lana wa lakumul-‘afiyah (Peace be upon you, O inhabitants of the abodes, believers and Muslims, and we will join you soon if Allah wills. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you).
السلام عليكم أهل الديار من المؤمنين والمسلمين، وإنا -إن شاء الله- بكم لاحقون، نسأل الله لنا ولكم العافيةAs-salamu ‘alaykum ahlad-diyar minal-mu’minina wal- muslimin, wa inna insha’ Allah bikum lahiqun, nas’alul-laha lana wa lakumul-‘afiyah (Peace be upon you, O inhabitants of the abodes, believers and Muslims, and we will join you soon if Allah wills. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you).
قولوا: السلام عليكم أهل الديار من المؤمنين والمسلمين، وإنا -إن شاء الله- بكم لاحقون، نسأل الله لنا ولكم العافيةPeace be upon you, inhabitants of the dwellings who are of the community of the believers. If Allah wills we shall join you.
السلام عليكم دار قوم مؤمنين وإنا -إن شاء الله- بكم لاحقون، يغفر الله لنا ولكمMay Allah have mercy upon those who have gone on ahead of us and those who come later on
يرحم الله المستقدمين منا والمستأخرينPeace be upon you, inhabitants of the dwellings who are of the community of the believers. If Allah wills we shall join you.
السلام عليكم دار قوم مؤمنين، وإنا -إن شاء الله- بكم لاحقونMay Allah have mercy upon those who have gone on ahead of us and those who come later on
يرحم الله المستقدمين منا والمستأخرينWe ask Allah for well-being for us and for you
نسأل الله لنا ولكم العافيةMay Allah forgive us and you
غفر الله لنا ولكمThe presenter : Not before the visit, and not after it?
The Shaykh : Not during the visit, not while visiting, and not after the visit in the cemetery, I mean. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.