of the Prophet ﷺ and the graves of the other prophets—may Allah’s blessings be upon them—as a sin that is categorically and unanimously agreed upon. This is what he wrote! So look at the distortion foisted upon Shaykh al-Islām. The reply contains no prohibition whatsoever against visiting the graves of the prophets and the righteous. It merely cites (1) two opinions regarding shadd al-rahl (undertaking a special journey) and travelling solely to visit graves. Visiting graves without shadd al-rahl is one issue, whereas saddling up and travelling for no purpose other than the visit is another.

The Shaykh does not forbid visits that entail no journey; on the contrary, he considers them recommended and encourages them. His books and his manuals for the rites of pilgrimage attest to this. In that fatwa he did not even address such visits, nor did he brand them sinful, nor did he claim a consensus banning them. Allah, exalted is He, nothing is hidden from Him.

When the letter in the judge’s own hand reached Egypt, the talk multiplied and the turmoil intensified. The judges there (2) were summoned, they gathered and conferred, and some of them proposed imprisoning the Shaykh. The sultan endorsed the proposal, and the events already mentioned then unfolded (3).

After that, things befell those who had pursued this case that cannot be recounted in this place (4).