For this reason, the earliest generations used to multiply their prayers and salutations upon him (1) in every place and at every time, and they never gathered at his grave—neither (2) to complete a full Qur’an recitation, nor to light candles (3), nor to distribute food and drink, nor to chant poetic odes (4), nor to do anything else of that kind. All of this is among the innovations. Instead, they did in his mosque only what is prescribed in all other mosques: ritual prayer, Qur’an recitation, remembrance of Allah, supplication, spiritual retreat, teaching and learning the Qur’an and the religious sciences, and the like (5). They were well aware (6) that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—(7) receives a reward equal (8) to the reward of every righteous deed performed by his community, for he
= Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya states in Majmuʿ al-Fatawa 1/238: “Saʿid ibn Mansur relates in his Sunan that ʿAbd Allah ibn Hasan ibn Hasan ibn ʿAli ibn Abi Talib …,” then he quotes the report. He adds: “The same purport is also transmitted from ʿAli ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-ʿAbidin, from his father, from ʿAli ibn Abi Talib. Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi, the ḥadith scholar, cites it in his Mukhtar, which is more reliable than al-Hakim’s Mustadrak.” See al-Ahadith al-Mukhtara 2/49. I did not find the narration in the printed edition of Sunan Saʿid.
(1) The word “ʿalayhi” is absent from MSS A and B.
(2) The word “la” is missing from MS C.
(3) The phrase “wa-la iqad” (nor lighting [fires]) appears in MSS A and B as “wa iqad” (and lighting).
(4) The phrase “wa-inshad” (nor chanting) appears in MSS C and D as “wa-la inshād.”
(5) The words “wa-l-iʿtikaf, and teaching the Quran and knowledge and learning it, and the like” are omitted in MS D.
(6) MSS C and D read “anna al-nabiyya” (that the Prophet).
(7) MS B adds the word “qala” (he said).
(8) The word “mithl” (like) is absent from MS B.