and forbade making his grave a place of recurring celebration, and asked Allah not to make it an idol that is worshipped. Thus, no one was allowed to enter his burial place to visit him as one enters the burial place of another. The invocation of blessings and peace upon him, whether in his mosque or elsewhere, is an honour with which Allah has singled him out and favoured him above others. Through this, Allah has spared him any need for what is done at another person’s grave—even when that is permissible.

As for “taking graves as places of prayer,” this is forbidden at every grave, even if the person praying prays only to Allah and supplicates only to Allah. How much more so if he supplicates to a created being, prostrates to him, makes vows to him, or does other such things practised by the people of polytheism, religious innovation, and misguidance!

If, however, someone were to come to the mosque without praying there, but instead approach the grave and then leave, this is precisely what the leading scholars, such as Mālik and others, condemned. None of the scholars considers this recommended. The disagreement concerns whether it is forbidden or permissible. We know of no Muslim scholar who recommended anything of this kind. Rather, they condemned travelling solely for the grave without intending to pray in the mosque, and regarded this as a forbidden journey.

Nor did any of the early generations do this. Rather, when the Companions travelled to his mosque, they prayed there and met with his caliphs, such as Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī. They sent greetings of peace and invoked blessings upon him during prayer, and those among them who observed this practice also did so when entering and leaving the mosque. And they did not