They regarded as commendable at his grave only those acts that are of the nature of praying for him and greeting him—such as invoking blessings and peace upon him. They disliked going to the grave for the purpose of personal supplication and standing there to make duʿāʾ (1). Should any of them allow a dispensation, it is solely in the case where a visitor has first offered the greeting of peace and then wishes to supplicate; he should turn toward the qiblah, either with his back to the grave or at an angle, facing the qiblah as he prays and not facing the grave itself. This is the position transmitted from all the other leading Imams as well.

None of the Imams of the Muslims (2) considered it praiseworthy for a person to face the Prophet’s ﷺ grave and make supplication there. What we have cited from Mālik and the early generations clarifies the real import of the well-known narrative about him—the report that Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ relates from Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayd (3):

“Abū Jaʿfar (4), the Commander of the Faithful, debated Mālik in the Prophet’s Mosque. Mālik said to him (5): ‘O Commander of the Faithful, do not raise your voice in this mosque. Allah, exalted is He, disciplined a people by saying,

“Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:2) (6),

and He praised a people (7) by saying,

“Indeed, those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah…” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:3) (8),

and He censured a people by saying,

“Those who call out to you from behind the private chambers—most of them do not reason” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:4).’ (9)"