The Companion who related the ḥadīth understood that Mount Ṭūr and other stations of the prophets are included in the general prohibition, and that it is therefore unlawful to journey to them, just as it is unlawful to journey to any mosque besides the three. Moreover, if traveling to a house of Allah other than those three is not permitted—even though attending one’s local mosque is at times obligatory and at other times recommended, and although the virtues of frequenting mosques are beyond count—then traveling to the houses (1) of His servants is even more clearly impermissible.
The second opinion holds that such travel is permissible. A number of later scholars adopted this view, among them Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (2), Abū al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbdūs al-Ḥarrānī (3), and Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Maqdisī (4). I have not found this position transmitted from any of the early authorities; it is based on the assumption that the ḥadīth
(1) The printed text reads: “the houses of the dead among His servants.”
(2) Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Tusi (Abu Muhammad, titled Hujjat al-Islam; 450–505 AH) was a Shafi‘i jurist who also wrote on legal theory and philosophy. His major works include Ihyaʾ ʿulum al-din, al-Mustasfa, al-Wajiz, and al-Khulasa. See: Wafayat al-aʿyan 4:216–219, no. 588; al-Aʿlam 7:22.
(3) Ali b. Umar b. Ahmad b. ʿAmmar al-Harrani (Abu al-Hasan; 511–559 AH), a sixth-century Hanbali scholar renowned for his asceticism and preaching, authored a Qurʾan commentary and the book al-Madhhab fi al-madhhab. See: al-Dhail ʿala Tabaqat al-Hanabila 1:241–244, no. 128.
(4) Two well-known scholars are referred to by this kunyah (Abu Muhammad):
• ʿAbd al-Ghani b. ʿAbd al-Wahid al-Jamaʿili al-Maqdisi (Taqi al-Din; 541–600 AH), a Hanbali traditionist and jurist, author of al-ʿUmda fi al-ahkam, al-Ahkam, al-Kamal fi maʿrifat al-rijal, and other works (see al-Dhail ʿala Tabaqat al-Hanabila 2:5–29).
• ʿAbd Allah b. Ahmad b. Qudama al-Maqdisi, later of Damascus (Muwaffaq al-Din; 541–620 AH), the Hanbali jurist famed for al-Mughni and numerous other writings (see al-Dhail ʿala Tabaqat al-Hanabila 2:133–149).
Both are styled Abu Muhammad and are equally prominent among Hanbalis and others; the context does not make clear which of the two is intended here.