Let the vistor salute the Prophet, , and his two Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, politely and in a low tone, since it is forbidden to raise the voice in the Masjids in general, and in the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah, , in particular, and at his grave.
It is narrated on the authority of As-Saa’ib ibn Yazeed, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, "I was standing (or sleeping) in the Masjid and somebody threw gravel at me. I looked and found that it was ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him. He said to me, "Fetch those two men to me." When I did, he said to them, "Who are you?" They replied, “We are from Taa’if." ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Were you from this city (Madeenah) I would have lashed you severely for raising your voices in the masjid of The Messenger of Allah ." [Al-Bukhari]
One should not prolong standing and supplication at the grave of the Messenger of Allah, , and the graves of his two Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, as it is rendered unfavorable by Maalik who said, “It is a religious innovation not done by the righteous predecessors; and nothing shall set right the later generations of this Ummah but that which set right its foremost.”
According to Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
Maalik rendered it unfavorable that whenever any of the inhabitants of Madeenah entered the masjid, he would go to the grave of the Messenger of Allah since the righteous predecessors did not do it: rather, they used to come to the masjid and offer prayer behind Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, in which they used to say: “As-salaamu ‘alayka ayyuha an-nabiyyu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh”; and once they finished the prayer, they would either sit or come out, without going to the grave for salutation, because they knew well that invoking blessings and peace upon him in the prayer is more perfect and superior.”
He added:
No doubt, his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were the best generation, the most knowledgeable of his Sunnah, and the most compliant with his commands, and they honored and loved him most from among all the people of the Ummah. Whenever anyone of them entered his mosque, he would not go to his grave, whether from within or outside the chamber, given that during their time, it was available to enter the chamber directly from the door until the other wall was built. Although the grave was accessible to them, they did not enter it for salutation, invoking blessings and peace upon him, supplication for their own selves, or asking about a Hadeeth (narration) or an item of knowledge.
None of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, visited it to ask him about the cases in which they fell into dispute. Satan also did not cause them to say: “Ask him to bring about rainfall for you, to invoke help or forgiveness for you”, as they used to do during his lifetime. If any of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, liked to supplicate for his own self, he would face the Qiblah, and supplicate while being in the mosque, as they used to do during his lifetime. They did not intend to supplicate at the chamber, nor did any of them enter the grave.
He added:
They used to come from journeys to meet with the Rightly-Guided caliphs and for other purposes, whereupon they would pray in the mosque, and invoke blessings and peace upon him in prayer, and salute him when entering and leaving the mosque. But they did not use to go to the grave, seeing that they were not commanded to do so. But on his arrival from a journey, Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, used to go to the grave, and greet the Messenger of Allah and his two Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Perhaps others beside Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, did the same too. But the majority of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, did not do as Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, did. One should also not wipe over the walls of the chamber and then pass his hands over his body, nor kiss it: if one does so, out of worship of Allah The Almighty, and honoring of the Messenger of Allah it will be a religious innovation, and, to be sure, every religious innovation is an error. Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with them, disapproved of Mu‘aawiyah passing his hands over the Shaami and Western Corners of the Ka‘bah, given its validity, under Sharee‘ah, as regards both the Yemeni (and Black Stone) Corners.
To honor and have love for the Messenger of Allah, , does not mean to pass the hand over the walls of a chamber built centuries after his death. But to love and honor him means to follow him outwardly and inwardly, and make no innovations in his religion that were not ordained by him. In confirmation of that, Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."}[Quran 3:31]
If one wipes over or kisses the walls of the chamber only out of sentiment or in vain, that indeed is foolishness and error, and of no use. On the contrary, it is harmful, by which the ignorant are deceived.
One should also not invoke the Messenger of Allah, , to bring about a benefit or avert harm, since it is Shirk (polytheism). Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
{And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.}[Quran 40:60]
{And [He revealed] that the masjids are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone.}[Quran 72:18]
Furthermore, Allah The Almighty commanded His Prophet, , to tell his Ummah (nation) that he did not have the power to benefit or harm himself, saying (what means): {Say, "I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe."} [Quran 7:188] Since he, , did not possess that power for himself, of a surety, he would not hold it for anyone else.