Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (27/181)

died—five days beforehand:

“Those before you used to take graves as places of worship. Beware! Do not take graves as places of worship, for I forbid you to do so.”

The Sunan collections also report that he, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“May Allah curse women who visit graves and those who set up places of worship and lamps over them.”

Since he forbade taking graves as places of worship and lighting lamps over them, it is clear that he did not designate them as places for worshipping Allah and supplicating. Rather, he prescribed that those who visit graves should greet the deceased and supplicate for them, just as he prescribed offering the funeral prayer over them before burial and supplicating for them. Thus, the purpose of what he, peace and blessings be upon him, prescribed is to supplicate for the deceased, not to invoke them. And Allah knows best.

يَمُوتَ بِخَمْسِ: {إنَّ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ كَانُوا يَتَّخِذُونَ الْقُبُورَ مَسَاجِدَ أَلَا فَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْقُبُورَ مَسَاجِدَ؛ فَإِنِّي أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ ذَلِكَ} وَفِي السُّنَنِ عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: {لَعَنَ اللَّهُ زَوَّارَاتِ الْقُبُورِ وَالْمُتَّخِذِينَ عَلَيْهَا الْمَسَاجِدَ وَالسُّرُجِ} . فَإِذَا كَانَ قَدْ حَرَّمَ اتِّخَاذَهَا مَسَاجِدَ وَالْإِيقَادُ عَلَيْهَا عُلِمَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَجْعَلْهَا مَحَلًّا لِلْعِبَادَةِ لِلَّهِ وَالدُّعَاءِ. وَإِنَّمَا سَنَّ لِمَنْ زَارَ الْقُبُورَ أَنْ يُسَلِّمَ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ وَيَدْعُوَ لَهُ كَمَا سَنَّ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ عَلَيْهِ قَبْلَ دَفْنِهِ وَيَدْعُوَ لَهُ. فَالْمَقْصُودُ بِمَا سَنَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الدُّعَاءُ لِلْمَيِّتِ لَا دُعَاؤُهُ. وَاَللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.