containing a divinely revealed law, and who is charged with conveying it, obliging the people to abide by it, and waging jihad to uphold it—that is the messenger.

A prophet, on the other hand, is one to whom revelation is given that includes a law, yet he is not commanded to convey it; such were the prophets among the Children of Israel who came after Moses (peace be upon him).
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Visiting the Prophet’s ﷺ grave

Question: Numerous hadiths urge—or even obligate—the visitation of the Prophet’s ﷺ grave or his mosque. Are these narrations authentic or fabricated?

Answer: No authentic hadith from the Prophet ﷺ specifically enjoins visiting his grave. Every report that speaks exclusively about visiting his grave is either fabricated and false, or so exceedingly weak that it is impermissible to act upon it. What is firmly established is the general encouragement to visit graves, as he ﷺ said: “I had previously forbidden you to visit graves; now visit them, for they remind one of the Hereafter.”

Accordingly, what is soundly reported from the Prophet ﷺ is the recommendation to visit graves in general—for reflection, for supplicating on behalf of the deceased, and for seeking forgiveness for them—without undertaking a journey for that purpose and without saddling mounts.

As for visiting his grave in particular, no authentic hadith exists. The reports cited about it are either unsound, extremely weak, or outright fabrications falsely attributed to the Messenger ﷺ, as clarified by the leading scholars of Islam such as the hadith master Ibn Ḥajar, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, the hadith scholar Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī, and other authorities in the field.