and religious innovation, as in the worship of Christians and those who resemble them—for example, seeking out a particular site for purposes other than the acts of worship Allah has commanded. This is not part of the religion. Hence, the leading scholars counted travelling to visit the graves of prophets and righteous people among recurring religious innovations. According to the sounder of the two views, this is not prescribed. Some who held this view even explicitly stated that anyone undertaking such a journey may not shorten the prayers during it, because it is a journey undertaken in disobedience to Allah.

Likewise, seeking out a site associated with a created being, such as a grave or a shrine, in order to petition that being, seek his protection, or do anything similar, constitutes associating partners with Allah and religious innovation. This is what Christians and those innovators within this community who resemble them do: they treat Hajj and prayer as belonging to the same category as their practices of associating partners with Allah and introducing religious innovations.

Thus, when some of his wives mentioned to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, a church in Abyssinia, describing its beauty and the images it contained, he said:

“When a righteous man among those people died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and make those images in it. They will be the worst of creation before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.”

For this reason, scholars forbade practices involving worship of anyone other than Allah and petitioning deceased prophets or righteous people. Examples include writing a petition and hanging it beside the grave of a prophet or righteous person, prostrating to a grave, calling upon it, or directing one’s entreaties to it.

They also stated that building mosques over graves is impermissible, because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said five nights before he died:

“Indeed, those who came before you used to take