Praise be to Allah.
Islamic Ruling on Traveling to Visit the Prophet’s Grave
It is not permissible to travel with the intention of visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or the grave of any other person, according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
Traveling to Visit a Mosque
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“No one should travel for the purpose of visiting (any mosque) except three: Al-Masjid Al-Haram (in Makkah), this mosque of mine (in Madinah) and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (in Al-Quds/Jerusalem).” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Permissibility of Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi
It is prescribed for the one who wants to visit the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and who lives far from Madinah to have the intention of travelling to visit Al-Masjid An-Nabawi ; that will include by implication visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the graves of Abu Bakr and `Umar, and the graves of the martyrs and people of Al-Baqi`.
When Is Visiting the Prophet’s Grave Allowed?
If he has the intention of visiting both ( the mosque and the grave ), this is permissible, because things may be permissible as part of something else which are not permissible on their own. But having the intention only to visit the grave and travelling for that purpose is not permissible.
Intending to visit the grave only is not permissible if it involves travelling. But if a person lives close by and does not need to travel, and his going to the grave is not regarded as “travel” or a “journey”, then it is OK, because visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the graves of his two companions without having to travel is Sunnah and is an act of worship.
The same applies to visiting the graves of the martyrs and of the people of Al-Baqi`.
The Sunnah of Visiting Graves without Traveling
Similarly, visiting the graves of Muslims in all places is Sunnah and is an act of worship, but without travelling for that purpose, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Visit graves, for they will remind you of the Hereafter.” (Narrated by Muslim)
The Prophet’s Guidance on Visiting Graves
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to teach his companions, when they visited graves , to say, “As-Salamu `alaykum ahl Ad-diyar min Al-Mu’minin wal-Muslimin, wa inna in sha’ Allah bikum lahiqun, nas’al Allaha lana wa lakum Al-`Afiyah (Peace be upon you, O believing and Muslim dwellers of this place. We will join you soon, if Allah wills. We ask Allah to keep us and you safe).” (Narrated by Muslim)
And Allah knows best.
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