, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to devote his prayer and ritual worship to Allah. Whoever travels to a place other than those houses of Allah to which travel is prescribed, and invokes anyone other than Allah, has devoted his ritual worship and prayer to someone other than Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibited travelling to any mosque other than the three mosques, even though it is a house of Allah, because it has no special distinction warranting such a journey. Neither he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor the prophets before him prescribed travelling to it. The three mosques are different: each was built by a prophet who called people to travel to it. They therefore possess special distinctions that other mosques do not.

If travelling to houses of Allah other than these three is not prescribed, by agreement of the four imams—indeed, the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibited it—then what of travelling to the houses of created beings whose graves are made into mosques, idols, and places of celebration, through which partners are associated with Allah and which are invoked besides Him? So much so that many who revere them consider pilgrimage to them superior to pilgrimage to the House of Allah. They thus regard polytheism and idol worship as superior to worshipping Allah alone and worshipping the Most Merciful, as some polytheists do.

Allah Most High said:

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives anything less than that for whom He wills. Whoever associates partners with Allah has indeed strayed far away.”

“They invoke none besides Him but female deities, and they invoke none but a rebellious devil.”

“Allah has cursed him.”

These idols had devils that spoke to their worshippers and appeared to them.

Ibn ‘Abbās said:

“At every