165 – In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim¹ it is related that, five days before his death, the Prophet ﷺ said: “I declare before Allah that I have taken none of you as an intimate friend, and had I been to choose a close friend from among my nation I would certainly have chosen Abū Bakr. Indeed, those who came before you used to turn the graves of their prophets and their righteous into places of worship. Beware—do not turn graves into places of worship; I am forbidding you from that.”
Unlawful practices at graves
166 – In the Sunan collections² he likewise said: “May Allah curse the women who habitually visit graves, and those who build places of worship over them and light lamps there.”
167 – The leading scholars of Islam unanimously agree that it is not prescribed:
– to perform prayer at graves, or to visit them with the specific intention of making supplication there;
– nor to rub against them or kiss them, whether they are the graves of prophets or of others. Under the whole canopy of heaven nothing is prescribed for touching and kissing except the Black Stone and the Yemeni Corner, for it is recommended to touch them both.³