, whether an act of the same kind is obligatory under the Sacred Law—as stipulated in Abū Hanīfa’s school—or not.

The judge Abū Ishāq Ismā‘īl ibn Ishāq said after discussing this issue:

“Were it not for prayer in those two mosques, he would not be obliged to go to them. Even if he had vowed a visit as an act of obedience, he would not be obliged to do so.”

Al-Qayrawānī mentioned this in his Taqrīb, as did Shaykh Ibn Sīrīn in his Tanbīh.

In al-Mabsūt, Mālik said concerning someone who vows to walk to one of the mosques to pray there:

“I disapprove of that for him, because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Mounts are not to be ridden on a journey except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, the Mosque of Jerusalem, and this mosque of mine.’”

Muhammad ibn al-Mawwāz related in al-Mawwāziyya:

“Unless it is nearby, in which case he must fulfil his vow, since this does not constitute setting out on a journey.”

Shaykh Abū ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said in his book al-Tamhīd:

“It is forbidden for Muslims to take the graves of the prophets and the righteous as places of worship.”

Since this has been established, it is not permissible to accuse of disbelief someone who answers this question by stating that such travel is forbidden. Whoever declares him an unbeliever on this account without valid grounds is himself an unbeliever if he considers doing so lawful; otherwise, he is sinfully disobedient.

Imam Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muhammad ibn ‘Alī al-Māzarī said in his book al-Mu‘lim: