—and from among the Followers as well, as al-Bukhari records in his Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ṭabarānī and others cite in their Qur’anic commentaries. Wathīmah and a number of scholars likewise mention it in Stories of the Prophets with reference to the verse:

“And they said, ‘Do not abandon your gods; do not abandon Wadd, Suwaʿ, Yaghūth, Yaʿūq, or Nasr.’” (Nūḥ 71:23)

They explained that these were the names of righteous men from among Noah’s people. When those men passed away, their people began to frequent their graves; as time went on, they fashioned their likenesses into images that became idols. Thus lingering at graves, rubbing against them, kissing them, and offering supplication beside or over them—and similar practices—formed the very root of polytheism and idol-worship.

For this reason the Prophet ﷺ prayed, “O Allah, do not allow my grave to become an idol that is worshipped.”

The scholars are unanimously agreed that whoever visits the grave of the Prophet ﷺ—or the graves of any other prophet or of the righteous, whether Companions or members of the Prophet’s household—