they would greet the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and when they wished to supplicate they would not face the noble grave. Instead, they would step aside, turn toward the qiblah, and call upon Allah alone, without partner, exactly as they prayed to Him in every other place.

For in al-Muwattaʾ and elsewhere it is related that he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “O Allah, do not let my grave become an idol that is worshipped; Allah’s wrath is most severe against a people who turned the graves of their prophets into places of worship.”

In the Sunan he said: “Do not take my grave as a festival. Send blessings upon me wherever you may be, for your blessings reach me.”

And in the Sahih it is reported that during the illness from which he never recovered he said: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians; they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship,” warning against what they had done.

ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her and with her parents) said: “Had it not been for that—”