Allah upon him—“pilgrimage to Allah’s Sacred House,” the distinguishing rite of the upright, monotheistic faith of Abraham, the leader of those who follow Allah’s religion. Instead, he heads for Medina.

Nor does he seek what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, encouraged: prayer in his mosque. He said in an authentic hadith:

“One prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except in the Sacred Mosque.”

He pays no heed to Allah’s commands to invoke blessings and peace upon His Messenger wherever he may be, to obey his commands, follow his Sunnah, support him, and revere him. This entails loving him more than one’s family, wealth, and all other people—indeed, more than oneself. Instead, by visiting his grave or someone else’s, he seeks things that neither Allah nor His Messenger commanded, that his Companions never practised, and that the leading scholars of the religion never approved.

His desire to visit the Prophet’s grave during Hajj may exceed his desire to perform Hajj itself, or he may give the two aims equal weight. All of this is a departure from the religion, by the agreement of the Muslims. Indeed, undertaking a journey specifically to visit any grave—whether that of a prophet or anyone else—is prohibited according to the majority of scholars. They do not even permit intending to pray there, on the grounds that it is a journey undertaken in disobedience to Allah. This is based on his statement, authentically recorded in the two Sahīh collections:

“No journey is to be undertaken except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, al-Aqsā Mosque, and this mosque of mine.”

He was the most knowledgeable of people concerning such a matter. Every hadith narrated concerning visiting the grave is weak—indeed, fabricated. Indeed, even