Visiting Graves in General
Visiting the mazaar (graves/tombs)
of the beloved servants of Allah has been a common practise of the Awliya and
righteous scholars for centuries, due to the fact that it is a means of great
blessing and benefit.
This originates from the blessed Sunnah
of the Beloved Messenger, may Allah’s finest blessings and eternal
greetings of peace be upon him, who would visit graves and stated, “Verily,
I had restrained you from visiting the graves. Now, visit them. Certainly, it
reminds one of the Hereafter.” [Tirmidhi; Vol.3]
In Sahih Muslim, Sayyidina
Abu Huraira reports that the Beloved Messenger “visited his mother's grave and
wept until everyone around him was in tears.”
And Sayyidina ibn Abbas narrated
that the Beloved Messenger once passed by some graves of Madinah. He turned his
face towards them, and said, “Peace be on you, O people of the grave! May Allah
forgive us and you. You have gone before us, and we are to follow.” [Tirmidhi;
Chapter 59, Hadith no. 1055]
Significance of the Graves of the
Righteous
The Beloved Messenger attributed
much honour and significance to Jannatul Mu’alla, the holy cemetery in Makkatul
Mukarramah, and to Jannatul Baqi, the holy cemetery of Madinatul Munawwarah.
The reason for this is due to the
esteemed status of those buried there i.e. noble companions and believers, thus
clarifying that not all graves and cemeteries should be regarded as equal in
status and sanctity. The graveyards in which the pious are buried and laid to
rest are definitely sanctuaries radiating with the light of Allah’s blessings.
Several Hadiths relate that the
Beloved Messenger would often visit Jannatul Baqi, implicating clearly the
merits and virtues of visiting sacred graves or cemeteries where the righteous
are buried.
Sayyida Aisha reported that he would
go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi and say, “Peace be upon
you, abode of a people who are believers. What you were promised would come to
you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay; and God willing, we shall join
you. O Allah, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi’ al-Gharqad.”
[Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith no. 2126]
Seeking Blessing at the Graves of
the Righteous
Imam Mulla Ali Qari writes, “Anyone
who builds a Masjid near the grave of an upright person, or prays in the tomb,
or intends to ask for help through the ruh (soul) of that upright person,
or intends to seek barakah (blessing) from his leftovers (tabarruk),
if he does all that without the intention of giving him tazeem (esteem)
or doing tawajuh (focus) towards him [in prayer], then there is nothing
wrong in that.”
And he continues, “Don't you see
that the grave of Sayyidina Isma’eel, upon him be peace, is inside the
Masjid al-Haram, near the Hateem, and to pray at that place is superior than
all else. However, to pray near the graves is only forbidden if the soil
becomes dirty because of the najasat (impurities) of the deceased. In
the Hateem, near Hajr al-Aswad and Mizaab, are the graves of seventy Prophets.”
[Mirqat, Sharh al-Mishqaat; Vol. 2, pg. 202]
Imam al-Shafi himself states, “I
swear that I seek the blessing of Abu Hanifa and come to his grave everyday (as
a visitor). Whenever I have a certain need, I pray two rakah nafl
(according to the Hanafi madhhab), then come to his grave and ask Allah
for my need at his grave, and little time passes until it is fulfilled.”
When asked why he performed those
two nafl rakah by the Hanafi method, he replied, “In respect of the
person in the tomb (i.e. Imam Abu Hanifa).”
[reported by Hafiz al-Khatib in his Tarikh
Baghdad (1:123); Imam ibn Hajar al-Haythami in al-Khayrat al-Hisan;
Imam al-Kawthari’s Maqalat; Imam ibn Abidin in Radd al-Muhtar ala
al-Dur al-Mukhtar]
In a well-known Hadith by Sayyidina
Abu Hurairah, the Beloved Messenger states that “the believer is a mirror for
the believer...” [Bukhari; Abu Dawud]
One interpretation of this beautiful
statement can be made thus: souls of the believers are like mirrors for one
another; they are seen in one another. Therefore, blessings emanated from the
soul of a righteous believer or saint, are reflected into the heart of a person
who visits his grave, or accompanies him during his life, or uses him as a Waseela.
The weaker of the two souls gains strength, just like the reflection of light
is able to eliminate darkness from the surface of a mirror.
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