have any hadith on which to rely in this matter except the hadith of Abū Hurayrah, in which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“No man greets me with peace without Allah restoring my soul to me so that I may return his greeting.”

This is also what Abū Dāwūd relied upon in his Sunan. Likewise, Mālik narrated in al-Muwatta’ that whenever Abd Allāh ibn Umar entered the mosque, he would say, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon you, O Abū Bakr. Peace be upon you, my father,” and then leave.

In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said:

“Do not make my grave a place of recurring gathering. Send blessings upon me, for your blessings reach me wherever you may be.”

In the Sunan of Sa‘īd ibn Mansūr, it is reported that Abd Allāh ibn Hasan ibn Husayn ibn Alī ibn Abī Tālib saw a man repeatedly visiting the grave of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and supplicating there. He said, “O you! The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do not make my grave a place of recurring gathering. Send blessings upon me, for wherever you may be, your blessings reach me.’ In this respect, you and a man in al-Andalus are on an equal footing.”

In the two Sahīh collections, Ā’ishah reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said during his final illness:

“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. Were it not for that, his grave would have been left exposed, but he was averse