those who remain behind. Forgive us and him, Lord of all worlds; make his grave spacious and illuminate it for him.” Narrated by Muslim.1

As for what should be said when visiting graves, the Sunnah sanctions visiting them in order to take admonition, remember the Hereafter, and pray for mercy and forgiveness for their occupants. At first, people were forbidden to visit graves because they had only recently emerged from the Age of Ignorance and it was feared that they might utter some of its falsehoods there. Once the foundations of Islam had become firmly established, its rulings settled, and its distinguishing teachings widely known, they were permitted to visit, with the purposes of such visits explained to them and a warning against uttering falsehood when visiting graves.

Burayda ibn al-Husayb—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “I had forbidden you to visit graves, but now visit them.” Narrated by Muslim, Ahmad, al-Nasā’ī, and others. Ahmad added: “For they remind you of the Hereafter,” while al-Nasā’ī added: “Whoever wishes to visit them may do so, but do not utter falsehood.”2

Such falsehood includes invoking those buried in the graves, seeking their aid instead of Allah, using them as intermediaries, seeking blessings from them, and similar forms of falsehood and misguidance. The Sunnah of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—explains what a Muslim is prescribed to say when visiting graves. This includes what Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from the Mother of the Believers, Āisha—may Allah be pleased with her—that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Gabriel came to me and said, ‘Your Lord commands you to go to those buried in al-Baqī and ask forgiveness for them.’” She said: “I asked, ‘What should I say to them, Messenger of Allah?’ He replied: ‘Say: Peace be upon the inhabitants of these dwellings from among the believers and Muslims. May Allah have mercy on those among us who have gone before