ignorant innovations resembling Christian and polytheistic practices of misguidance. The well-known hadith relates that Basrah ibn Abī Basrah al-Ghifārī saw Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, after he had travelled to al-Tūr—the mountain on which Allah spoke to Moses. He said:
“Had I seen you before you went there, I would not have let you go, for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Journeys should not be undertaken except to three mosques: al-Masjid al-Harām, al-Masjid al-Aqsā, and this mosque of mine.’”
If travelling to visit al-Tūr—where Allah spoke to Moses and which He called “the sacred valley” and “the blessed spot”—is not prescribed, then what of travelling to visit other mountains? For tūr means “mountain,” and atwār means “mountains.”
As for the well-known grave at its foot in al-Karak, said to be “Noah’s grave,” this claim is utterly false and untenable. No one possessing knowledge and understanding has said that this is Noah’s grave, or the grave of any prophet or righteous person. Indeed, there was never any mention or report of this grave at all. Rather, until quite recently, the place was a plot of land where crops were grown and weavers worked.
People saw a grave there containing a large bone and noticed a smell coming from it. The ignorant supposed that this smell meant it must be a prophet’s grave. They asked, “Which of the prophets was large in stature?” They answered, “Noah.” So they declared, “It is Noah’s grave.” They built the tomb over it during the rule of the Rāfidah (Rejectionists) who were allied with al-Nāsir, ruler of Aleppo. It was later enlarged during the reign of al-Zāhir, until it became an idol through which the ignorant associate partners with Allah.