And had this wording been familiar to them, prescribed in religion, or transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—the scholar of Medina would not have disapproved of it.

When Imām Ahmad, the most knowledgeable person of his time concerning the Sunnah, was asked about this, the only hadith he had on which he could rely was the report of Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

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

This was also the report on which Abū Dāwūd relied in his Sunan. Likewise, Mālik related 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.” Then he would leave.

In the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd, it is reported that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

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

In the Sunan of Sa‘īd ibn Mansūr, it is related that ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Husayn saw a man repeatedly visiting the grave of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

‘Do not make my grave a place of recurring gatherings. Send blessings upon me wherever you are, for your blessings reach me.’

In this regard, you and those in al-Andalus are equal.”

In the two Sahīh collections, it is reported that during his final illness the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—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. ‘Ā’ishah said: “Were it not for that, his grave would have been in the open, but he did not want it to be made a place of worship.” They buried him in ‘Ā’ishah’s chamber, contrary to what