This is because they have no argument for travelling to the graves of the other prophets except the journey to our Prophet. Since travelling to that place is prescribed in principle, they drew an analogy with it to justify travelling to other graves. Thus they went astray and led others astray, contradicting the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the consensus of the Muslims. They erred in many respects.

Among them is that the only prophet’s grave on earth known through mass transmission and consensus is the grave of our Prophet; all others are disputed.

Another is that those who recommended travelling to visit our Prophet’s grave meant travelling to his mosque, which is prescribed by consensus. Even if a traveller intends to visit the grave, he reaches only the mosque, and the mosque is the endpoint of his journey: he does not reach the grave itself. This differs from visiting another grave, where he does reach the grave.

The exception would be someone steeped in ignorance and misguidance who supposes that travelling to his mosque was prescribed only because of the grave; that this is why prayer there is equivalent to a thousand prayers; and that, were it not for the grave, the mosque would have no special merit over others. Or he might suppose that the mosque was built or designated as an adjunct to the grave, just as mosques are built over the graves of prophets and righteous people, and that praying in the mosque is secondary, while the grave is the real object of the visit. This is what those who travel to the graves of prophets and righteous people other than our Prophet suppose. It is like someone who goes to the Friday prayer and, upon entering, offers two units of prayer to greet the mosque: he came for the Friday prayer, not for those two units of prayer.

Anyone who thinks this about the mosque of our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is among the most misguided of people and the most ignorant of the religion of