go to the grave. This is established from them through mass transmission. No one can report from them, or from any one of them, that after praying behind the Rightly Guided Caliphs, he would go, either then or at another time, to stand outside the chamber. As for entering the chamber, that was not possible for them. If, after travelling to his mosque, they followed his prescribed practice of invoking blessings and peace upon him without going to his grave, how could they intend to travel to it? Or make it the purpose of their journey without praying in the mosque?

Whoever says that this is recommended must cite an imam of the Muslims who said so. Even if he produces such a report, the person who said it would have contradicted the statements of the scholars, just as the person who practises it has contradicted the practice of the Muslim community, the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the consensus of his Companions, and the scholars of his Ummah.

Allah Most High says:

“Whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a path other than that of the believers, We will leave him to what he has chosen and burn him in Hell—what an evil destination!”

And:

“Actions are judged only by intentions, and each person will have only what he intended.”

In their manuals of pilgrimage rites, Muslim scholars have mentioned that travelling to his mosque is recommended, and have mentioned visiting his honoured grave. I know of no Muslim who has said that someone whose sole intention is to visit the grave undertakes a recommended journey—even if they were to say this concerning someone else’s grave. Yet this was not what some people intended—people unfamiliar with the Sharia and with what the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded and forbade. At most, such a person may be excused because of his ignorance