He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

“Is supplication at graves, such as those of the righteous and the friends of Allah, permissible or not? Is it more likely to be answered there than at the graves of others? And which places are best for supplication?”

He replied:

Supplication at graves is no better than supplication in mosques or elsewhere. None of the early generations or the imams said that it is recommended to go to graves specifically to supplicate there, whether the graves of prophets or anyone else. Rather, it is established in Sahīh al-Bukhārī that ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb sought rain through al-ʿAbbās—the uncle of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him—and said:

“O Allah, we used to seek rain from You through our Prophet, and You would grant us rain. Now we seek a means of drawing near to You through our Prophet’s uncle, so grant us rain.”

And they would be granted rain. Thus, they sought rain through al-ʿAbbās just as they had sought it through the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, because he was the Prophet’s uncle. They did not seek rain at his grave or supplicate there. Indeed, it is established in the authentic hadith collections that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“May Allah curse the Jews and Christians: they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.”

He was warning against what they had done. He also said, before he