“I visited the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).” Mālik had met people from among the Successors, who were the most knowledgeable about this matter. This indicates that expressions referring to visiting the Prophet’s grave (peace and blessings be upon him) were not familiar to them. Hence, some leading scholars disliked standing facing the grave while supplicating. Indeed, Mālik and others also disliked standing there to supplicate for oneself. He mentioned that this was not the practice of the Companions and the Successors, and that nothing will set the latter generations of this community right except what set its earliest generations right.

Among the reasons scholars have mentioned for his dislike of saying, “I visited the Prophet’s grave,” is that many people had come to use this expression to mean an innovated form of visitation: approaching the deceased to ask of him, invoke him, and appeal to him to fulfil their needs, and similar things that many people do. This is what they mean by the word “visitation.” Such conduct is not prescribed in Islam, by agreement of the leading scholars. Mālik therefore disliked using an ambiguous expression that conveys a corrupt meaning, unlike sending blessings and peace upon him, which Allah has commanded.

As for the word “visitation” when applied to graves in general, this meaning may not be understood from it. Consider his saying:

“So visit graves, for they remind you of the Hereafter.”

Together with his visit to his mother’s grave, this encompasses visiting the graves of disbelievers. Thus, it is not understood to mean visiting the deceased to invoke him, ask of him, seek his aid, or engage in similar practices of those who commit shirk and follow religious innovations. This is unlike the case when the person whose grave is visited is held in religious veneration: