Visiting Graves

Visiting Graves

Bismillahirahmanirraheem,

As Muslims we are advised by our beloved Prophet PBUH to visit the graves of muslims as a reminder to ourselves of the reality of death and we make du'a to Allah for their peace, mercy and forgiveness.

Ibn Mas’ud RA reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

“I prohibited you from visiting graves, but visit them now. Verily, they will weaken your attachment to the world and remind you of the Hereafter.” - Narrated in Sunan Ibn Majah hadith 1571.

The Sunnah Dua upon visiting graveyard:

It was reported that A'ishah RA said The Messenger of Allah (SAW) would go out during the latter part of the night to (the cemetery of) al-Baqee' and say,

"Peace be upon you, dwellings of the believing people. There has come to you that which you were promised, and if Allah wills we will follow you soon. O Allah, forgive the people of Baqee' al-Gharqad." - Narrated in Sahih Muslim, hadith 974.

A woman used to clean the mosque and she died. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked about her and they said, "She died." He said, "Why did you not tell me? Show me to her grave." So they showed him and he offered the (janaza) prayer for her, then he said, "These graves are filled with darkness for their occupants, but Allah illuminates them by my prayer over them.’” - Narrated in Sahih Muslim, hadith 956.

Visiting them will remind us of the reality of death so to avoid heedless behaviour in our worldly lives & time wasting, this will increase us in Taqwa and İhsan.

Visiting the grave of the Prophet Muhammed PBUH and his intercession.

The intercession of the Prophet PBUH is a reality for the Musliims & those who visit his grave as Muslims,

A man of the family of al-Khattab reported the Prophet SAW as saying, "He who purposely comes to visit me will be under my protection on the day of resurrection; he who lives in Medina and endures its difficulty will have me as a witness and intercessor on the day of resurrection; and he who dies in one of the two sacred territories will be raised by Allah on the day of resurrection among those who will be safe."

Ibn ‘Umar RA traced the following back to the Prophet, "He who performs the pilgrimage and visits my grave after my death will be like him who visited me in my lifetime." Baihaqi transmitted the two traditions in Shu’ab al-iman. - Mishkat al-Masabih 2755, 2756

Imām al-Dāraqutunī narrated in his Sunan from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet saw said: “Whoever visits my grave, my intercession will be guaranteed for him.” - Narrated in Al Bayhaqi & Tabarani.

Sending salam to the Prophet SAW

It is permissible and rewarded to send salawat by asking Allah to send peace on the Prophet of Allah SAW,

Rasulullah SAW said “Allah has angels who go around on earth, conveying to me the salam of my ummah.” - Narrated by al-Nasa’i.

Abu Hurayra RA reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “None of you greet me with peace but that Allah returns my spirit, that I may return his greeting of peace.” - Sunan Abu Dawud 2041.

When visiting the grave of the Prophet (SAW) and his two companions Abu Bakr RA and ‘Umar RA, what was narrated from the Sahabah is to greet them with Salam.

Ibn ‘Umar used to say, “As-salamu ‘alayka ya Rasulullah, as-Salam ‘alayka ya Abu Bakr, as-salamu ‘alayka ya abati (O my father),” then he would go away. This was classed as Sahih by al-Hafiz ibn Hajar.

Prohibitions at graves:

1. No prostration in graveyards

Anas Ibn Mālik RA said: “Allah’s Messenger forbade (us) from praying (Salah) amongst the graves.” - Ibn Hibbān 1698.

It was narrated that Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said: The Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Do not sit on graves, nor pray towards them.” Narrated by Imam Muslim.

The Prophet SAW said: “All the earth is a mosque apart from the graveyards and bathrooms.” - Narrated by Tirmidhi, hadith 317 & Ibn Majah, hadith 745.

1. No erecting structures over graves

Jābir RA said: “Allah’s Messenger SAW forbade the plastering of graves, sitting on them and erecting structures over them.” - Narrated in Sahih Muslim hadith 970 & Tirmidhi hadith 1052.

The Prophet SAW said to ‘Ali RA “Do not leave a statue but that you should deface it nor a very high grave but that you should level it with the ground.” - Narrated in Sahih Muslim.

Thumamah Ibn Shufayy said: “We were with Fadālah Ibn ‛Ubaid (RA) in the lands of the Romans in Rhodes when one of our companions died. So Fadalah commanded that his grave be levelled, then he said: ‘I heard Allah’s Messenger (SAW) command that they be levelled.” - Sahih Muslim 968.

It is narrated by Al-Khallal on the authority of ‘Jabir RA that he said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, forbade increasing the grave (in height) more than the dust coming out from digging it.”

The Prophet SAW advised muslims not to build structures over graves that may potentially be taken as objects of worship, he mentioned them along with statues, these are seemingly preventative measures against the possibility of shirk at graves.

1. Making graves places of festivity and worship.

The Prophet SAW said: “When there used to die a righteous man or servant from amongst them, they would build over his grave a place of worship – and they would make in it these pictures. They are the worst of creatures in the sight of Allah.” - Narrated in Sahih Bukhari hadith 427 & in Sahih Muslim hadith 528.

Rasulullah SAW said “Indeed those who came before you would take the graves of their Prophets as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship, for indeed I forbid you from that.” - Narrated in Sahih Muslim.

The Prophet SAW said: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” - Narrated by al-Bukhari, 435; Muslim, 529.

A'ishah and 'Abd-Allah ibn 'Abbas said: "When death approached the Messenger of Allah (SAW), he started to cover his face with a cloak of his. When he became distressed he lifted it from his face and said, "May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship." The narrator said: “he was warning against doing what they did." - Narrated in Sahih Bukhari hadith 425 & Sahih Muslim hadith 531. (*Graves of their prophets in this narration of course does not include Eesa AS who is not dead and did not yet die a worldly death therefore is not buried in a grave, he is alive in the 2nd heaven with his cousin and Prophet Yahya AS and will return toward the end times in Damascus to defeat the Dajjal, break the cross & sacrafice a pig by Allahs permission)

Ahmad (RA) reported with a good chain of narration from Ibn Mas‛ud  (RA) which is elevated as a saying of the Prophet (SAW):

“Indeed the most evil of people will be those who are alive when the Final Hour reaches them, and those who take the graves as places of worship.” Reported by Abu Hatim in his Sahih from Imam Ahmad 1/405 (38844) Sahih.

The dead cannot hear except what Allah willls them to hear, we cannot make them hear us:

Allah says,

“Not are alike those that are living and those that are dead. (Only) Allah can make any that He wills to hear; but you cannot make those to hear who are (buried) in graves.” - Qur'an 35:22.

The Prophet PBUH said: “When a dead servant is put into his grave (buried) and his fellows (relatives and those who took part in his burial) leave him, he hears the sound of their footsteps.” (I.e walking away.) Narrated in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

Narrated by Aisha RA: “The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood by the well in which were lying the dead bodies of those polytheists who had been killed on the Day of Badr, and (according to Ibn Umar) he said to them what he had to say, i.e “Have you found what your lord promised you to be true?” But he (Ibn 'Umar) misunderstood that the prophet meant they could hear him, PBUH. The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) had only said: "They understand that what I used to say to them was truth. She then recited the verse from the Qur'an “Certainly, you can not make the dead hear in the graves." Sahih Muslim Book 004, Number 2027.

Narrated Ibn Umar RA: The Prophet (may peace be upon him) stood at the well of Badr (which contained the corpses of the pagans) and said, "Have you found true what your lord promised you?" Then he further said, "They now hear what I say." This was mentioned before 'Aisha RA and she said, "But the Prophet PBUH said, 'Now they know very well that what I used to tell them was the truth.' Then she recited (the Holy Verse) "You cannot make the dead hear... ..." (Sura Fatir 22)  These are narrated in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

The deeds of the deceased are cut off except sadaqah jariyah and they cannot assist the living:

Abu Hurayra RA reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “When the human being dies, his deeds end except for three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him.” Narrated in Sahih Muslim 1631.

‘Abdallah b. ‘Abbas reported Allah’s messenger as saying, “A dead man in his grave is just like a drowning man calling for help, for he hopes that a supplication from a father, a mother, a brother, or a friend may reach him, and when it does it is dearer to him than the world and what it contains. Allah most high brings to those who are in the graves blessings several times as great as the size of the mountains because of the supplication of those who are on the earth. The gift of the living to the dead is to ask pardon for them.” - Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman also in Mishkat al-Masabih 2355.

A hadith narrated from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and others of the salaf, and narrated by Abu Hatim in al-Sahih from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said: “When his soul is taken up it is met by the souls who ask him about the living and they say to one another: ‘Let him rest.’ And they say: ‘What happened to So and So?’ And he says: ‘He did a righteous deed.’ They say: ‘What happened to So and So?’ and he says: ‘Has he not come to you?’ They say: ‘No.’ They say: ‘He was taken to the Pit (of Hell).’”

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah RA reported that Allah's Messenger SAW said: "Verily, the soul of the believer (after death) soars up to the heavens, whereupon the souls of other believers come to it, seeking news about those they know from the people of the earth." - Authenticated by Imam as-Suyooti RA, al-Aayatul-Bayyinat.

Is addressing the dead directly and asking of them shirk?

It cannot be said that addressing the dead in and of itself is shirk as the Prophet SAW himself addressed them directly, by saying,

"Peace be upon you, dwellings of the believing people. There has come to you that which you were promised, and if Allah wills we will follow you soon. O Allah, forgive the people of Baqee' al-Gharqad." - Narrated in Sahih Muslim, hadith 974.

For addressing the dead to be classified as shirk the person addressing the occupant must be assigning an attribute exclusive of Allah to the occupant by making a dua to them by asking of what only Allah can grant, if he does not do that, then it cannot be shirk.

Addressing them with words like “Peace be upon you” as is the Sunnah is rewarded and other words like “I’m sorry, please forgive me, I love you etc” said in of grief and sorrow cannot be classified as shirk at all, although it is still of ignorance due to the fact that we cannot make them hear in the graves what we say, it can be excused.

However if one addresses the occupant asking for something that only Allah can grant and attribute a share of Allahs attributes from the grave side or remotely then that can be classed as a dua and shirk, the prophet SAW said “Dua is worship”and worship is for Allah alone and Allah knows best what is in the hearts.

Allah says “And who could be more astray than those who call upon others besides Allah, that cannot respond to them until the Day of Judgement, and are unaware of their calls?” - Qur'an 46:5.

Allah also says regarding those who make intermedieries in prayer (i.e occupants of the graves and other idols to barter with Allah whom none has power or authority to do):

"Have they taken (others) as intercessors besides Allah? Say: "Even if they have power over nothing whatsoever and have no intelligence?" Say, "To Allah belongs all intercession. His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. Then to Him you shall be brought back." Qur'an 39:43-44.

Allah tells us that the mushrikeen say:

"We worship them (idols and intermedieries) only that they may bring us near to Allah.'" - Qur'an 39:3.

Allah has commanded all people to pray to Him and call on Him alone, and He has commanded them all to say: "You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help ." Qur'an 1:5.

Some visit graves seeking blessings & "more acceptable" dua from Allah, they believe the site has barakah around it due to the occupants proximity to Allah as an awliyya, and while the site may be blessed, going there for ones needs to be fulfilled in this way is an innovation and making graves a place of worship and festivity and this is haram and cursed by our prophet SAW, visiting a grave for our worldly needs to be fulfilled is not of Islam.

Innovation is a path to hellfire and rejected repentance.

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah RA said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said: “Do not take your houses as graves and do not take my grave as a place of festivity. Send blessings upon me for your greeting will reach me no matter where you are.” - Narrated by Abu Dawud, 2042; classed as Sahih.

Do not obey those that make what is haram halal:

Allah says:

"They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah), and (they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded [in the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] to worship none but One God (Allah) La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but he - Allah). Praise and glory be to Him, far above is He (in rank, majesty, power, intelligence etc.) from having the partners they associate (with Allah)." - Qur'an 9:31.

Asking those alive in the dunya for their dua

Asking someone to pray for you or for assistance who is alive in the dunya is absolutely fine as long as one knows Allah has full power to grant that need.

It was reported from 'Uthman ibn Haneef RA that a blind man came to the Prophet SAW and said: "Pray to Allah to heal me." He said, "If you wish, I will pray for you, and if you wish, I will delay that, and that will be better." (According to another report: "If you wish, be patient - that will be better for you.") He said, "Pray for me." So he commanded him to do wudu' and to do it well, and to pray two rak'ahs.” - Narrated by Ahmad, 4/138; al-Tirmidhi, 5/569; Ibn Majah, 1/441; it is a sahih hadith.

It was reported that Anas RA said: whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was giving the khutbah (sermon) on Friday, a man stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the horses have died and the sheep have died. Pray to Allah to give us rain." So he spread his hands and prayed (made du’a). - Narrated by al-Bukhari, 890; Muslim, 897.

Asking someone who has passed away to pray for you is in vein as they are not aware of the request and their effect on the world is no more except for their sadaqah jariyah as addressed already. Only in the case of Rasulullah SAW is there an exception, he is shown our deeds and asks forgiveness for us. It is haram and shirk to do as the Christian’s do and make intermediaries between them and Allah by sending their dua to Eesa AS this is shirk, whether it be done with Eesa AS or any other entity, dua is for Allah alone.

Tawassul:

What is Tawassul?

Tawassul is of two types permissible and forbidden.

The meaning of Tawassul in Arabic means "to draw close".

Allah says in the Qur'an: “they desire means of access to their Lord” - Al-Isra 17:57

Permissible Tawassul:

This is to draw close by means he has made permissible, for example being dutiful to parents, good to ones wife, kindness to animals, giving in charity, caring for an orphan, aiming for beauty and excellence in one’s life, obligatory and optional acts of worship, the best way is loving the prophet SAW the most after Allah SWT and increasingly adhering to his instruction, these are all means and ways to gain closeness with Allah.

Applying the beautiful names of Allah is also a means of drawing closer to Allah,

Allah says “And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His names. They will be requited for what they used to do.” - Qur'an 7:180.

Forbidden Tawassul

Tawassul that is innovation and forbidden is the attempt to draw close to Allah by means of things that he did not make a means and that he does not like and that do not please Him, and are even Haram.

One common example of forbidden tawassul is trying to draw close to Allah by calling on those who have left the worldly life for help by way of invocation at their graves or remotely. They attribute ability to them that belongs to Allah alone like Allahs attribute of all hearing by calling those souls they assume that they can hear from wherever they are and attribute to them ability to affect the world after they have left it and this is shirk, and never can anyone do an atoms weight of action except if Allah permitted.

This is a henious innovation which goes against Tawheed and leads to the hellfire if a person dies in this state having not repented from it.

Calling on those who cannot hear you nor benefit you, whose worldly deeds have come to and end by giving them attributes of Allah is futility.

Calling on them and attempting to make them a means for worldly needs or protection that only Allah can bestow is Major Shirk.

Seeking the intercession of the prophet PBUH and martyrs as a means of nearness to Allah:

It is also narrated that whoever sends the most salawat on the prophet SAW will be the closest with him in Paradise and whoever sends 10 Salawat in the morning and evening will also be granted the intercession of the Prophet PBUH.

The Prophet SAW reserved a special dua for the intercession of his entire Ummah, may we live and die as the Ummah of Rasulullah SAW. Amin.

The Intercession of the Prophet PBUH and the martyrs for example is not included as forbidden tawassul and is a different matter, they will intercede for us conditionally but we are not instructed to ask them verbally for their intercession but we are instructed to do acts that qualify us for intercession like visiting the Prophet PBUH and holding on to the rope of Islam this is permissible tawassul.

Martyrs will chose who they will intercede for and that is not for us to influence after they have passed on from the worldly life, and they would not hear any request for intercession, the Prophet SAW never instructed us to seek help from anyone other than Allah by our invocations and Allah is all wise.

We must stick to the Sunnah regarding grave visits and avoid the prohibitions regarding conduct there and this is the safest practice & Allah knows best.