Allah Most High has said in His Book:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱبْتَغُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ ٱلْوَسِيلَةَ
O believers! Be conscious of Allah and seek a means of nearness (wasila) to Him
Surah al-Ma’ida: 35
The Muslims since the time of the Sahaba till now have understood that the greatest means (wasila) with which one can approach Allah Most High is undoubtedly His beloved, the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad ﷺ. It is for this reason that both during his life and after his passing, his Ummah remains in close connection and contact with him, knowing that the greatest route to the mercy of Allah is through him ﷺ.
During the reign of the second Caliph of Islam, Sayiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab, there was a drought. Malik al-Darr, who was Umar’s treasurer at the time, reported that:
A man came to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and complained to him (about the drought) and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, seek rain for your Ummah! They are on the verge of being destroyed!”
Then later the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in the man’s dream and said to him:
“Go to Umar, convey my salaam to him and inform him that they will be given rain.”
Al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Abi Shaybah1
It is no surprise that the Sahaba would seek the assistance of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ even after his passing since it is authentically established that he said:
“The prophets are alive in their graves praying”
al-Bayhaqi
To believe that all of the Prophets are alive in the barzakh (intermediary realm after death) is a core belief of Sunni Muslims. Not believing in this would take one out of the fold of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-jama’ah.2
There are many occasions where the early Muslims3 would visit the grave of the Prophet ﷺ, give Salams, request his noble dua and seek his assistance. This is because Allah Most High has given the Prophet ﷺ a vast and expansive life in the barzakh and He Himself has given him the ability to see and hear those who visit him, hear the salam of those who greet him from far and assist those who seek his assistance. 4
An incident similar to the above is reported by Imam al-Darimi who says that on another occasion a severe drought struck Medina. So the people went to Sayidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, and complained to her. She said to them:
Go to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ, then make a window facing the sky, so that between the grave and the sky there is no roof.
The people did as they were told and they were given so much rain that the pastures grew and the camels became fat! (al-Darimi)
On one occasion, Marwan ibn al-Hakam (the Muslim ruler at that time), came to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and saw a man there. The man was placing his face on the grave. Marwan said to him “Do you know what you are doing?”. The man turned around and then Marwan realised that it was Abu Ayub al-Ansari! (one of the greatest Sahaba). Sayiduna Abu Ayub said to him:
Yes! I have come to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I did not come to a stone!
Ahmed
There are many more incidents similar to these which tell us that visiting the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, even after his passing, is an established practice of the Sahaba and the pious of this Ummah. In fact, there is a consensus of the scholars that visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ is a recommended act of worship. And how could that not be the case when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has said:
Whoever visits my grave, my intercession will be guaranteed for him.
al-Daraqutni and others 5
At this moment in time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is buried next to his two greatest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar. There is however a fourth space available in the chamber and it is established in Hadith that Prophet Isa (Jesus) will be buried there (Tirmidhi). This will take place after he returns and rules the world for a number of years.
Visiting graves in general also has many benefits. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
I had previously forbidden you to visit the graves, but now do visit them because they help to renounce the world and they remind of the hereafter.
Ibn Majah
Initially the Muslims were told not to visit graves since they had just recently been living in a society which was entrenched in polytheism. Later on (when they were educated enough to avoid unlawful practices) they were commanded to visit graves and seek the benefits of doing so.
Another benefit of visiting graves, in particular those of the pious, is that they are places where duas are answered. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of the hellfire”
Tirmidhi
It is well established that duas are more likely to be accepted in certain blessed locations. So imagine a dua made at the grave of one of the awliya (friends of Allah) who is resting in a garden from the gardens of paradise! It is for this reason that it was common practice for people to visit the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa and make dua to Allah in hope it would be accepted. In fact, Imam al-Shafi’i said whenever he made dua at the grave of Abu Hanifa, his prayer was answered quickly.
Footnotes
- Some of the scholars mention that the man who saw the dream was Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzzani and he was a Companion.
- Imam Bayhaqi mentions this. Also see ‘Resolution 66’ of the Majlis e Shari Mubarakpur.
- By ‘early Muslims’ we are referring to the first three generations of Muslims. They were called the best of generations by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Arabic term for these early Muslims is ‘Salaf’. The term ‘Salaf’ should not be confused with ‘Salafi’ which is a modern sect who falsely attribute themselves to the Salaf.
- If Allah Most High wills, there will be a forthcoming article on the lives of the Prophets in the barzakh.
- Some have declared the Hadith weak however it is actually ‘hasan’ i.e. fair. It is certainly not fabricated as some have mentioned. See Sheikh Gibril Haddad’s research on this.
Orthodox Muslim 