They asked, “Messenger of Allah, then why do you give to them?” He replied, “They insist on asking me, and Allah does not wish that I should be miserly.”

Most of these persistent petitioners, given their fragile state, would see their faith waver if their requests were refused—just as was the case with those who appealed to him during his lifetime. Some of that earlier group were granted what they sought and were then ordered to leave Madinah.

When such a response occurs, it is an honor granted to the one in the grave; as for the petitioner, it is no proof of his good standing. In this respect there is no difference between one case and another. People were not forbidden to pray at graves or to turn them into places of worship out of disrespect for those buried there, but because of the temptation feared for the living. Temptation arises only when its causes are present; had there been no danger of people being seduced at graves, they would never have been prohibited from worshipping there.

The same is true of the marvels and extraordinary happenings reported at the graves of prophets and the righteous—lights and angels descending, devils and beasts avoiding them, fire being driven away from them and from those nearby, some of them interceding for their neighbors among the dead, the commendation of being buried close to certain graves, the sense of intimacy and tranquility felt in their vicinity, or the punishment that befalls whoever treats them with contempt. Such phenomena, in general, are real, yet they are not the issue under discussion.

Indeed, the grace, mercy, sanctity, and honor that Allah has bestowed upon the graves of the prophets and the righteous far surpass what most people imagine—but this is not the place to delve into those details.