and peace be upon him—for all the hadiths concerning visiting his grave are weak, and none may be relied upon in matters of religion. This is why the compilers of the Sahīh and Sunan collections did not transmit any of them. They are transmitted only by those who narrate weak reports, such as al-Dāraqutnī, al-Bazzār, and others.

[The strongest hadith among them is that narrated by Abd Allāh ibn Umar al-Umarī—he is a weak narrator, and the report is manifestly false—such as the saying:

“Whoever visits me after my death, it is as though he visited me during my lifetime.”

This is manifestly false and contrary to the religion of the Muslims.] (*)

For whoever visited him during his lifetime while believing in him was one of his Companions, especially if he was among those who emigrated to him and fought alongside him. It is authentically established that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Do not revile my Companions. By Him in whose hand is my soul, if one of you spent gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not equal a double handful given by one of them, nor even half of that.”

Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim recorded it in their Sahīh collections.

Someone who comes after the Companions cannot equal them even through commanded, obligatory deeds, such as Hajj, jihad, the five daily prayers, and sending blessings upon him. How, then, could he do so through an act that, by the agreement of the Muslims, is not obligatory? Indeed, travelling to his grave is not even prescribed; rather, it is prohibited.

As for travelling to his mosque to pray there, or to al-Aqsā Mosque to pray there, this is recommended, whereas travelling to the Kaaba for Hajj is obligatory. Even if someone undertook an obligatory or recommended journey, he would not equal any of the Companions who travelled to him during his lifetime. How, then, could he do so through a prohibited journey?

The imams have agreed that if someone vowed to travel to his grave—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—or to the grave of another prophet or righteous person, he would not be obliged