without exception. The Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—deliberately went there, and it is authentically reported that he said:

“Whoever performs ablution in his home, then comes to the mosque of Qubā’ intending only to pray there, will receive a reward equivalent to an ʿumrah.”

Nevertheless, one should not undertake a journey specifically to visit it. Rather, someone already in Medina may go there, without setting out on a journey specifically for that purpose. Such journeys should instead be undertaken to the three mosques, for he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Do not undertake a journey except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, al-Aqsā Mosque, and this mosque of mine.”

Thus, according to the four imams and others, anyone who vows to travel to the mosque of Qubā’ should not fulfil that vow. This differs from the Sacred Mosque: they agree that a vow to travel there must be fulfilled. The same applies to the mosque in Medina and the mosque in Jerusalem, according to the more correct of their two positions. This is the position of Mālik and Ahmad, and one of al-Shāfiʿī’s two positions. According to his other position, which is also that of Abū Hanīfah, fulfilling such a vow is not obligatory, though it is permissible and recommended. For his governing principle is that a vow makes something obligatory only if it is already obligatory under Islamic law. Most scholars, however, hold that every act of obedience to Allah becomes obligatory through a vow, as is established in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, where ʿĀ’ishah reports that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.”

It is also recommended to visit the graves of those buried in al-Baqīʿ and the martyrs of Uhud, to supplicate for them and seek forgiveness for them, because the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to make a point of doing so, although