through the night; likewise, if he lodged in a friend’s home and invoked Allah there, no blame would attach to him.

But if he were to pick out a place where an idol, a cross, or a church stands, seeking an answer to his supplication precisely because of that spot, this would rank among the grave offenses. Indeed, were he to choose a private house, a shop in the marketplace, or a roadside pillar and make supplication there in the belief that it is more likely to be granted, this too would be a forbidden abomination, for no special merit is attached to praying in such places. Visiting graves in order to supplicate beside them falls under the same heading—indeed, it is even more serious—because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade turning graves into places of prayer, treating them as festive sites, or performing ṣalāh beside them, unlike many of the locations just mentioned.

The report some people cite—“When you are perplexed in your affairs, seek the help of the inhabitants of the graves,” and the like—is a fabricated lie by unanimous agreement of the scholars. Several points make this plain. First, it has been shown that the very reason the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited praying at graves was to block any avenue to a form of shirk through lingering at them and attaching one’s heart to them, whether in hope or in fear.

It is also well-known that a person in dire straits—one upon whom calamity has descended and who calls upon Allah either to draw down benefit, such as rain, or to repel harm, such as victory over an enemy—is more prone to become enamored of graves if he thinks his plea will be answered there than someone who merely performs an obligatory prayer there in a time of ease. For most people who pray in times of well-being, their hearts are scarcely tempted in that way.