He was asked: “What do you say about a man who visits these shrines and travels to them?”
He answered:

“On the basis of the ḥadīth of Ibn Umm Maktūm—who asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to come and pray in his house so that he might thereafter adopt it as a place of prayer—and in view of what Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, used to do, tracing the very spots and footprints of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, there is no objection to a person visiting the shrines. Yet people have gone to extremes in this and have indulged in it excessively.”

Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim transmitted the same from him, in these words:

“He was asked about a man who comes to the shrines in Madinah and elsewhere and journeys to them. He replied: ‘According to the ḥadīth of Ibn Umm Maktūm—who asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to come to him and pray in his dwelling so that he might make it a mosque—and according to what Ibn ʿUmar used to do, following the routes and deeds of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to the point that he was once seen pouring water at a certain spot and, when asked about it, said, “I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, pour water here,”—on this basis there is no harm; he granted permission for it.’

He then added, ‘But people have gone far beyond the bounds and have done so to excess,’ and he mentioned the grave of al-Ḥusayn and what people do there. This habitual practice, which Aḥmad and others regarded as disliked, is also reported from Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him, and others: when some of his companions set aside a place where they would gather for remembrance, he came out to them…"