He purchased those chambers and other adjacent rooms, demolished them, and incorporated them into the Mosque. Some scholars objected to that—among them Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib—while others did not.

Abū Bakr al-Athram said:
“I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh—meaning Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal—‘May the Prophet’s grave be touched and rubbed for blessing?’
He replied, ‘I know nothing of that.’
I then asked, ‘What about the pulpit?’
He said, ‘As for the pulpit, yes; there is a report concerning it.’

Abū ʿAbd Allāh continued, ‘They narrate—from Ibn Abī Fudayk, from Ibn Abī Dhīb, from Ibn ʿUmar—that he wiped his hand over the pulpit. They likewise relate it from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib with regard to the pulpit’s knob.’

I added, ‘They also report that when Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd was about to depart for Iraq, he came to the pulpit, wiped it with his hand, and made supplication.’ I noticed that Ahmad approved of this and then said, ‘Perhaps that is permissible when there is a need or some special circumstance.’

It was said to Abū ʿAbd Allāh, ‘People press their stomachs against the wall of the grave.’ I told him, ‘I have seen the scholars of Madinah; they do not touch it. They stand to one side and offer their greetings.’

Abū ʿAbd Allāh replied, ‘Yes, that is exactly what Ibn ʿUmar used to do.’ Then he exclaimed, ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for him—peace and blessings be upon him.’

Thus Ahmad and others allowed wiping one’s hand over the pulpit and over the knob, which is the place