The Rulings and Etiquettes of Visiting Madeenah - III‎‎‎‎

25/10/2011| IslamWeb

Raising one's voice before the grave of the Prophet and standing there for a long time – as is done by some visitors – contradicts what is permissible. Allah The Almighty forbade the Muslims from raising their voice above the voice of the Prophet and from speaking loudly to him as they do with each other. He admonished Muslims to lower their voice before him. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not. Indeed, those who lower their voices before the Messenger of Allah - they are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for righteousness. For them is forgiveness and great reward.} [Quran 49:2-3]

Moreover, standing for a long time before the grave of the Prophet and repeating the greeting more than once leads to making the area before the grave crowded and noisy, and this contradicts what Allah The Almighty legislated for Muslims in the abovementioned verses. Also, the Prophet should be revered during his life and after his death and the believers should not do anything before his grave that contradicts the manners of Sharee‘ah. Some people supplicate Allah The Almighty before the grave of the Prophet while facing the grave and raising their hands.

“Whoever does something that is different from our way, it will be rejected." ‎This contradicts what was done by the righteous predecessors and their followers as it is a Bid‘ah and the Prophet said: “Adhere to my Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided Caliphs after me. Hold on to it and stick fast to it. Beware of novelties, for every novelty is an innovation (Bid‘ah), and every innovation (Bid‘ah) is an error.” [Abu Daawood and An-Nasaa’i: Hasan chain of narrators]‎ The Prophet also said: “Whoever introduces into this matter of ours (Islam) something which does not belong to it, it will be rejected.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The wording of Muslim's narration reads:‎

‘Ali ibn Al-Husayn (Zayn Al-‘Aabideen ) saw a man supplicating to Allah The Almighty before the grave of the Prophet . He forbade him from doing so, saying, "Shall I‎ tell you about a Hadeeth that I heard from my father on the authority of the Messenger of Allah : ‘Do not make my grave a place of festivity and do not turn your houses into graves, but send your greetings upon me from wherever you happen to be, for your greetings are conveyed to me.’” [Al-Haafith Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Waahid Al-Maqdisi in his book Al-Ahadeeth Al-Mukhtaarah] ‎

‎When visiting the grave of the Prophet some people place their right hand above the left above or under their chest, just like they do in prayers. This is impermissible when greeting the Prophet or any king or chief, as this particular form shows humility and submission that can be done only for Allah The Almighty. This was reported by Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar in Al-Fat-h, and this matter is clear for anyone whose aim is to follow the guidance of the righteous predecessors. However, those who follow their fancies, are blind in their imitation of others and think ill of those who call for following the guidance of the righteous predecessors, their affair rests with Allah The Almighty.

Some people face the grave at a distance and move their lips with the greeting or invocation and this is also a Bid‘ah (innovation) as Muslims should not innovate something in religion to which Allah The Almighty has not consented. When one innovates something, he draws nearer to disaffection than to allegiance and affection. Imam Maalik condemned this deed and any action similar to it and said, “This Ummah will only be reformed by that which reformed its first generations.” It is well-known that what reformed the first generations of this Ummah is following the methodology of the Prophet and his rightly guided Caliphs, Companions and their followers.

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎The Rulings and Etiquettes of Visiting Madeenah - IV