Ruling on Visiting the Grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

And visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and praying in the Noble Prophet’s Mosque?
Answer: Visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a recommended practice and an act of drawing near to Allah. If visiting other graves is a recommended practice, then visiting his grave (peace and blessings be upon him) is all the more so.
And praying in his Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him) is a recommended practice and an act of drawing near to Allah. Among the greatest of these is traveling to his Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), to the Sacred Mosque, and to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
What is prohibited, according to the stronger of the scholars’ opinions, is traveling for the sake of the grave alone.
That is, traveling for the sake of the grave, not for the sake of the mosque, nor for both together, but for the sake of the grave alone. This is what is prohibited according to the stronger of the scholars’ opinions, because of this hadith, due to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: So if traveling to a mosque other than these three is prohibited, then traveling to another place or to a grave is all the more prohibited; because mosques are the best places on earth, as it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: .
So if the mosques, which are the best places on earth, are not traveled to for the sake of drawing near to Allah except these three mosques, then it is all the more prohibited to travel to a grave, whether the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or any other, or to a place where it is said that a righteous man sat, or prayed, or the like. Why? Because traveling to a grave is taken as a means to exaggeration, calling upon the occupant of the grave, seeking aid from him, or making vows to him, or praying at his grave, or making supplication at it. And these are means to shirk (associating partners with Allah). Praying at the grave, or making supplication at it, or reciting the Qur'an at it are means to shirk.
As for calling upon the grave; calling upon the occupant of the grave and seeking aid from the occupant of the grave, this is shirk itself, the very shirk that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden. For this reason, and Allah knows best, Allah has forbidden traveling to any mosque other than the three, in order to block the means to shirk and cut off its avenues. So if one travels to pray in the mosque and to greet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), there is no harm. The visit becomes incidental. But if the purpose of traveling is for the sake of the grave only, then this is what is prohibited.
But I do not think a Muslim intends this. The Muslim who understands Islam does not intend the grave alone, but travels to pray in the mosque and to greet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the visit becomes attached to the mosque. There is no blame in that.
As for the one who is a resident of Madinah, it is prescribed for him to visit from time to time, and to greet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions, just as he visits Al-Baqi' and the martyrs of Uhud and greets them from time to time, due to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: And he used to teach his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) when they visited the graves to say: , and others in the hadith of A'ishah: .
And when he visited Al-Baqi', he would say: and he would make supplication for them (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the Sunnah; visiting graves to make supplication for them, to seek mercy for the dead, and to remember the Hereafter and have little interest in this world. Graves are not visited to call upon their occupants or seek aid from them, or to make supplication at their graves, or to pray at them, or to recite at them. No, but they are visited to seek forgiveness for them, to seek mercy for them, to make supplication for them with mercy and forgiveness, and to remember the Hereafter, remember death, and have little interest in this world. These are the purposes of visiting graves.
But the ignorant people, and the extremists, visit graves to call upon the dead, to call upon them other than Allah, to seek aid from them, to ask them for help and support. And this is major shirk. Or they visit them for the sake of religious innovations, such as praying at their graves, thinking that it is more accepted, more beneficial, and better, or making supplication at the graves, or reciting at them. And this is also a religious innovation; because it is a means to shirk. Today he prays at it for Allah, and another day he may pray for the occupants of the grave. He may make the prayer for the dead and the prostration for them, and thus fall into shirk.
And so is making supplication at them, and so is reciting at them. This is a religious innovation, and this innovation may lead to intending the dead, calling upon them other than Allah, or seeking aid from them other than Allah, or the like of the types of shirk. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
So, visiting this brother of ours, even if he has a hole in his mouth, is there nothing wrong with it from the perspective of the Shari'ah?
The Shaykh: Yes, there is nothing wrong with it.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.