“It is forbidden for the one who enters Masjid
an-Nabawî with a view to performing salât to go to the grave to greet Rasûlullâh. Imâm Mâlik said that it was makrûh to go to Qabr an-Nabî every time
one enters the Masjid. The Sahâbîs and the Tâbi’ûn used to go to the Masjid,
perform salât and go out. They would not go to the grave to greet, because, no
such action was ordered in Islam. It is a lie that the souls of the dead could
be seen in their living appearance. Such a vision happened only on the Mi’râj
Night. Muslims who came later committed what as-Sahâba did not do. A few
sahâbîs would go to the grave solely to say salâm only when they came back from
far countries. ’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar would go to the grave and greet whenever he
came back from a journey. No one else did so. It is a lie that Ahmad ar-Rifâ’î
kissed Rasûlullâh’s hand. It has been unanimously approved that one
should turn towards the Ka’ba and not the grave when praying in front of the
Hujrat as-Sa’âda.
It is prohibited by hadîths to come from distant
countries for visiting the Hujrat as-Sa’âda.”
The following writing is translated from the book Mir’ât al-Madîna:
“It
has become wâjib upon me to intercede for those who visit my shrine,” is said in a hadîth sharîf conveyed by Ibn
Huzaima, al-Bazzâr, ad-Dâraqutnî and at-Tabarânî (rahimahum-Allâh). In another
one reported by al-Bazzâr, “It
became halâl for me to intercede for those who visit my shrine,” is declared. The hadîth ash-sharîf in the Sahîh of Muslim and also quoted in Abu Bakr ibn al-Makkârî’s (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) book Mu’jama says, “If someone visits me solely for visiting me and without any other
intentions, he deserves my intercession for him on the Last Judgement.” This hadîth
sharîf foretold that Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) would intercede for those who
go to al-Madînat al-Munawwara to visit him.
A hadîth
sharîf reported by al-Imâm at-Tabarânî
and ad-Dâraqutnî and other imâms of hadîth (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) says, “He who visits my grave after carrying out
the hajj will be considered to have visited me during my lifetime.” Ibn al-Jawzî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), too, reported
this hadîth sharîf. Another one reported by ad-Dâraqutnî is: “The one who does not visit me after
carrying out the hajj will hurt me.”
Imâm Mâlik (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), too, reported this hadîth sharîf. Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) requested that
Muslims should visit him because he wanted his umma to gain thawâb by this way,
too. A hadîth sharîf reported by al-Imâm al-Baihakî, says, “When a person greets me, Allâhu ta’âlâ
gives my soul back to my body. I reply to his greeting.” Based on this hadîth sharîf, al-Imâm
al-Baihakî said, “Prophets are alive in their graves.” The Prophet’s
blessed soul being given back means that from his high position he answers the
one who greets him.
There are so many hadîths stating that the prophets
(’alaihimu’s-salawâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) are alive in their graves that they
affirm one another. One of them is the hadîth ash-sharîf, “I will hear the salawat recited at my
shrine. I will be informed about the salawât recited at a distance,” which was reported by Abu Bakr ibn Abî Shaiba and
quoted in the books of the six well-known great imâms of hadîth.
In the hadîth ash-sharîf reported by
Ibn Abî ’d-dunyâ on the authority of ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhumâ), it is said, “If
anyone visits the grave of an acquaintance of his and
greets him, the dead one recognizes him and
replies. If he greets a dead Muslim whom he did not know, the dead will become
happy and answer him.”
As to how Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam) can separately reply to everyone who sends salâm to him at
the same moment, it is like the sun illuminating thousands of cities
simultaneously.
As it is understood that Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) knows and answers when one
greets him, could there be another honour and bliss greater than this for a
Muslim?
Hadrat Ibrâhîm ibn Bishâr said, “I went to Medina to
visit the Qabr as-Sa’âda after a pilgrimage. I greeted in front of the Hujrat
as-Sa’âda and heard the reply ‘Wa ’alaika ’s-salâm.’ ”
The poet Nâbî said:
Beware of immodesty! Here where Allah’s
Beloved is!
To where the
Divine Look is directed; Maqâm al-Mustafâ this is!
Only if you resolve to act modestly, Nâbî,
go in this shrine,
There where
angels go round, and whereat prophets always kiss!
A hadîth
sharîf says, “After my death, I will hear as I do when I
am alive.” Another hadîth sharîf says, “Prophets are alive in their graves. They perform salât.” These hadîths show that our Prophet
(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) is alive in his shrine with a life we do
not know. It is written in very reliable books that Sayyid Ahmad ar-Rifâ’î[1]
, one of the prominent awliyâ’, and many other awliyâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) heard the reply when they greeted Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam) and that Ahmad ar-Rifâ’î attained the honour of kissing Rasûlullâh’s blessed hand. Saying that these are lies is like throwing mud at the
sun. The great Islamic scholar Jalâl ad-dîn ’Abd ar-Rahmân as-Suyûtî
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), who passed away in Egypt in 911/1595, refuted them in
his well-documented book Sharaf
al-Muhkam and proved that Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) was alive in his grave and
heard those who greeted him. One of the hadîths he quoted in his book is: “I saw the Prophet Mûsâ (Moses) performing salât in his grave on the
[1] He passed away in Basra in 578 A.H. (1183). His shrine and mosque were repaired and ornamented by the Ottoman Sultân ’Abdulhamîd Khan II.
Mi’râj Night.” Abu Nu’aim (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), the author of Hilya, too, quoted this hadîth
sharîf.
A hadîth
sharîf, quoted in Abu Ya’lâ’s
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) Musnad, says, “Prophets live and pray in their graves.”
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), during his last illness, said,
“I have always felt the
bitter taste of the food I ate at Khaibar. The poison I ate that day tears my
aorta now.” This hadîth sharîf indicates that Rasûlullâh died as a martyr. Allâhu ta’âlâ declared in the 169th
âyat karîma of Sûrat âl ’Imrân, “Never regard those who have been martyred on the way of Allah as
dead! They are alive!” So, it is
obvious that our master Rasûlullâh is alive in his grave like all martyrs.
Al-Imâm as-Suyûtî wrote: “Awliyâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) of high status can see the prophets (’alaihumu
’s-salawâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) as if they had not died. Our Master’s seeing Mûsâ
(’alaihi ’s-salâm) alive in his grave was a mu’jiza, and a
walî’s seeing in the same way is a karâma. Disbelief in karâma arises from ignorance.”
A hadîth
sharîf reported by Ibn Habbân, Ibn Mâja
and Abu Dâwûd (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) says, “On Fridays recite the salawât for me repeatedly! The
salawât will be conveyed to me.” When it
was asked whether it would be conveyed to him after his death, too, the Prophet
(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) answered, “Soil does not rot prophets’ bodies. Whenever a Muslim says the salawât for me, an
angel informs me of it and says, ‘So-and-so’s son, so-and-so of your umma sent
his salâm and prayed for you.’ ” This
hadîth sharîf shows that our Prophet is alive in his shrine
in a life which a man of this world cannot understand. Hadrat Zaid ibn Sahl
(radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) said, “One day, I was enjoying Rasûlullâh’s company. His blessed face was cheerful. I asked why he smiled. ‘Why should I not be happy? Jabrâ’îl gave
me good news just a moment ago: Allâhu ta’âlâ has declared that whenever my
umma recite a salawât for me once, Allâhu ta’âlâ will send a salawât ten times
in reply to them,’ he answered.”
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) is a great favour for the whole
Umma after his death, as he was Allahu ta’âlâ’s compassion for his companions
in his life. He is the cause of goodnesses.
Mahâl ibn ’Amr said, “One day, I sat with Sa’îd ibn Musayyab (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) by our mother Umm Salama’s (radî-
Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ) room. Many people came to visit
the Hujrat as-Sa’âda. Sa’îd, being astonished at the people, said, ‘How stupid
they are! They think Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) is in the
grave. Do prophets ever stay in their graves longer than forty days?’ ”
Nevertheless, Sa’îd[1]
himself had said he had heard the adhân called in Rasûlullâh’s grave on the day the disaster called Harra happened. Hadrat ’Uthmân
(radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh), when his house was blockaded, said, “I will not go
anywhere! I cannot leave Medina and Rasûlullâh.” If the words
which Mahâl ibn ’Amr reported from Sa’îd were true, Rasûlullâh would not have called Muslims to visit his grave. As a matter of fact,
Bilâl al-Habashî (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) went to Medina and visited Rasûlullâh’s shrine on the order he received from Rasûlullâh in his dream
after the conquest of Jerusalem. Hadrat ’Umar ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz (radî-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anh), Khalîfa of the Muslims, used to send salât and salâm from Damascus
to Medina with special officials. Hadrat ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh), when
he returned to al-Madînat al-Munawwara after conquering Jerusalem, first went
to the Hujrat as-Sa’âda, visited Rasûlullâh and conveyed salât
and salâm onto him.
Yazîd ibn al-Mahrî said, “I visited ’Umar ibn ’Abd
al-’Azîz (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh), the Governor of Egypt, on my way from
Damascus to Medina. He said to me, ‘Oh Yazîd! Please convey my salât and salâm
to Rasûlullâh when you have the bliss of visiting him!’ ”
Imâm Nâfi’ (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ)[2]
reported that ’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ), whenever he
came back from an expedition or war, would visit the Hujrat as-Sa’âda, first Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), then Hadrat Abu Bakr and then
his father Hadrat ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ), greeting each of them.
Though the Wahhâbite book Fat’h
al-majîd confirms this, too, it
writes that visiting the Prophet’s grave was not allowed in Islam and that no one but
’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar visited him. However, it is written in valuable books that
most of the Sahâbîs (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în) did visit him. It is a
filthy slander that ’Abdullâh
[1] Sa’îd ibn Musayyab was one of the seven famous ’ulamâ’ in Medina. He passed away in Medina in 91 A.H. (710).
[2] Nâfi’ was one of the prominent among the Tâbi’ûn and formerly a slave freed by ’Abdullâh ibn ’Umâr. He passed away in Medina in 120 A.H. (737).
ibn ’Umar committed an act not permitted by Islam. The
Wahhâbî author praises the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm highly when it suits his
interests, but he shamelessly commits such filthy slanders when it does not suit
him. If it had not been permitted to visit the Prophet’s shrine and to
say salât and salâm, ’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar would not have done so, or the Sahâbîs
who saw him would have told him that it was prohibited. His behaviour and the
silence of those who saw him show that it is permitted and meritorious. Imâm
Nâfi’ said, “I have seen more than a hundred times ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar say, ‘As-salâma ’alaika yâ Rasûl-Allâh!’
‘As-salâmu ’alaika yâ Abâ Bakr!’ and ‘As-salâmu ’alaika yâ Abî (father)!’ during his visits to Rasûlullâh’s shrine.”
One day, Hadrat ’Alî (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) entered
Masjid ash-Sharîf and wept long in front of Fâtimâ’s (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ)
room. Then he entered the Hujrat as-Sa’âda and said, “As-salâmu ’alaika yâ Rasûl-Allâh.” And he wept again. Then, saying, “ ’Alaikuma ’s-salâm yâ akhawayya wa
rahmat-Allâh,” he greeted Hadrat Abu
Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar and went out.
It was for this reason that our scholars of fiqh
(rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) came to Medina and performed salât in Masjid
ash-Sharîf after pilgrimage. Then they visited and received blessings by seeing
the Rawdat al-Mutahhara, the Minbar al-Munîr and the Qabr ash-Sharîf, which is
superior to the ’Arsh al-a’lâ; the places where the Prophet
sat, walked and leaned; the pole he leaned against when the wahî came and the
places where as-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the Tâbi’ûn (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în), who worked when the Masjid was being built and repaired or who had
the honour of giving financial help, walked. Those scholars and sulahâ’ who
came later would come to Medina after hajj and do as our ’ulamâ’ of fiqh did.
It is for this reason that pilgrims have been visiting al-Madînat al-Munawwara.
The ’ulamâ’ have given different answers to the
question whether one [a pilgrim] should first go to Medina or visit the Prophet’s
shrine after hajj. ’Alqama, Aswad and ’Amr ibn Maimûn, three superiors among
the Tâbi’ûn (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) said that one should first go to Medina.
Al-Imâm al-A’zam Abu Hanîfa (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), the sun of Islamic
scholars, said that it would be better to perform hajj and then leave Mecca for
Medina. So it was written in the fatwâ of Abu ’l-Laith Nasr as-Samarqandî
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), who passed away in 373/985.
During the sultanate of ’Abdulhamîd Khan II, it became
a
custom among [the Ottoman] pilgrims to stay in Medina
between the two ’Iyds and to leave Medina for Mecca when the time for hajj
came. Some pilgrims would go direct to Mecca and, after ’Arafât, come to Medina
to perform the visitation. Then they would go to Yanbû, the port of Medîna,
where they would take a steam-ship on the way back to their countries passing
through the Suez Canal.
Qâdî ’Iyâd, author of Shifâ’ ash-sharîf who passed away in Marrakush in 544/1150 and Shâfi’î
scholar Imâm Yahyâ an-Nawawî, who passed away in Damascus in 676/1277, and
Hanafî scholar Ibn Hammâm (Humâm) Muhammad al-Siwâsî, who passed away in
861/1456, (rahimahum Allâhu ta’âlâ) said that there had been ijmâ’ al-umma on
the fact that visiting Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed
shrine was very meritorious. Some scholars said that it was wâjib. It is a
sunna to visit graves. Visiting the most valuable grave, the Hujrat as-Sa’âda,
is the most valuable sunna.
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) used to visit the Baqî’
cemetery and the martyrs in Uhud. ’Abd al-Haqq ad-Dahlawî (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ), who was one of the great ’ulamâ’ in India that passed away in
The sixty-third âyat karîma of Sûrat an-Nisâ’, “If they, after tyrannizing over their
nafses, come to you and beg Allâhu ta’âlâ’s pardon, and if My Messenger prays
for their forgiveness, they will certainly find Allâhu ta’âlâ as the acceptor
of tawba and merciful,”
is a command for both men and women to visit the
shrine of the Prophet. It was said that it was mustahab to read this âyat
while visiting the shrine.
Imâm ’Alî (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) quoted Muhammad
ibn Harb al-Hilâlî (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) as saying, “I visited the Hujrat
as-Sa’âda three days after Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) burial.
After the visit I sat in a corner. A villager came and threw himself on the Prophet’s
grave. He took soil from the grave and sprinkled it on his face. He said, ‘Yâ
Rasûl-Allâh! Allâhu ta’âlâ declared about you in the âyat [above, which he
recited]. I have oppressed my nafs. I seek absolute forgiveness through your
intercession.’ I heard a voice from the grave: ’Good news to you! Your sins are
forgiven’.”
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) came to Uhud from Medina to
visit the martyrs in Uhud. Therefore, it is an ’ibâda to go to al-Madînat
al-Munawwara to visit the Prophet’s shrine. The ’ulamâ’ of Islam (rahimahum-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) have unanimously stated that it is a very meritorious deed.
The hadîth
ash-sharîf, “Only three masjids[1]
are to be gone to for
visiting,” shows that it is very
meritorious to go to al-Madînat al-Munawwara with a view to visiting the Qabr
as-Sa’âda. Those who do not do so will remain deprived of its great thawâb, and
perhaps they will have neglected a wâjib. Going on long journeys to visit
masjids other than these three is permitted if it is for Allah’s sake. But it
is harâm in case of other intentions.
Question: “Imâm Hasan ibn ’Alî (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) did not permit visitors
to approach the Qabr as-Sa’âda. And Imâm Zain al-’Âbidîn (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ), saying that Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) declared, ‘Do not make a [place of] festival of my shrine! Do not make cemeteries of your houses!
Recite salawât on me wherever you are; your salâm will be conveyed to me,’ did not permit approaching the Qabr as-Sa’âda. What
would you say about that?”
Answer: These statements are not congruous with the hadîth ash-sharîf, “Only
three masjids are to be gone to for visiting.” Further, the two imâms probably wanted to prevent
only those who would behave disrespectfully. [Therefore,] Imâm Mâlik
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) did not even permit staying a long time near the Qabr
as-Sa’âda. Imâm Zain al-’Âbidîn (rahimah-Allâhu
[1] The Masjid al-Harâm in Mecca, the Masjid an-Nabawî in Medina and the Masjid al-Aqsâ in Quds (Jerusalem).
ta’âlâ), in his visitations to the Hujrat as-Sa’âda,
would stand by the pillar in the direction of the Rawdat al-Mutahhara and
greet. So, it was understood that Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed head was on that side of the Hujra. That was
the place to stand by during visits before the rooms of Rasûlullâh’s blessed wives (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhunna) were annexed into the
Masjid as-Sa’âda. The visitors stand in front of the door of the Hujrat
as-Sa’âda and greet.
Harûn ibn Mûsâ al-Hirâwî asked his grandfather
’Alqama: “On which side of the Qabr as-Sa’âda had the visitors stood before the
rooms of our Prophet’s wives (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhunna) were annexed
into Masjid as-Sa’âda?” His grandfather said, “Because the door of the Hujrat
as-Sa’âda had not been walled up before Hadrat ’Â’isha died, they used to stand
in front of the door.”
Hâfiz ’Abd al-’Azîm al-Munzirî (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ), a scholar of hadîth who passed away in Egypt in
Therefore, visitors to the Qabr as-Sa’âda should not
stay long but leave soon after greeting and praying. Muslims should deem
visiting the Qabr as-Sa’âda a very meritorious ’ibâda. They should go to
al-Madînat al-Munawwara however far they may be and try to visit frequently.
That is, one should not restrict it to once a year, but, whenever one can
afford, one should go and visit without staying long in front of the Hujrat
as-Sa’âda.
Abu Hanîfa (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), the sun of the
’ulamâ’ of Islam, said that visiting the Qabr as-Sa’âda, one of the most
valuable of mustahabs, was an ’ibâda of a degree nearly equal to wâjib.
In the Shâfi’î madhhab, one who vows to visit the Qabr
as-Sa’âda has to fulfil his vow. As for the one who vows to visit
another grave, there is no unanimity that he should
fulfilled his vow, but he had better fulfil it.
It is necessary for the one who vows to visit the
Masjid al-Harâm on foot to fulfil his vow, because the farîda (obligatory acts)
of hajj are performed in Masjid
al-Harâm. And since Masjid as-Sa’âda contains the Qabr as-Sa’âda which is
more estimable than both the Ka’bat al-Mu’azzama [in the Masjid al-Harâm in
Mecca] and Masjid al-Aqsâ [in Jerusalem], a vow to go to that blessed masjid on
foot, because it will include the intention to visit the Qabr as-Sa’âda, should
certainly be fulfilled.
A vow to visit the Ka’bat al-Mu’azzama
should be fulfilled according to all the four madhhabs. There is no unanimity
as to whether a vow to visit Masjid as-Sa’âda or Masjid al-Aqsâ should be
fulfilled. However, the disagreement is about visiting the masjid itself; the
one who vows to visit the Qabr as-Sa’âda has to fulfil his vow.
’Abdullâh Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Zaid (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) was asked: “If someone, who is sent as a deputy to carry out the hajj
and ordered to visit the Qabr as-Sa’âda, only carries out the hajj and returns
without visiting, is it necessary for him to return the money given to him to
spend during the visit to the Qabr as-Sa’âda?” Hadrat Ibn Zaid, one of the
prominent among the Mâlikî scholars who passed away in
Imâm Mâlik (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) said concerning
visiting the Qabr as-Sa’âda, “In Masjid ash-Sharîf, one should turn his back
towards the qibla [Ka’ba] and face the Hujrat as-Sa’âda, greet modestly and
respectfully and recite the salawat. Two rak’as of salât [tahiyyat al-masjid] should be performed in the Rawdat al-Mutahhara after entering the masjid. Then, standing in front of
the Muwâjahat as-Sa’âda, first Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam), then Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhumâ) should be greeted, and then some certain prayers should be said,
because Rasûlullâh, or any believer, hears his visitors, their salâms
and prayers. Though it is permitted to pray as one wishes and to say whatever
prayers one remembers, it is better to say the certain prayers recommended by
the ’ulamâ.’ ”
Al-Imâm al-a’zâm Abû Hanîfa (rahmat-Alâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih) said that, when he was in Medîna, he saw that Ayyûb as-Sahtiyânî
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), one among the sulâhâ’ who passed away in Basra in
stood facing the Qabr as-Sa’âda, and, the qibla behind
him, wept.
Abu ’l-Laith as-Samarqandî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ),
giving reference to al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa, said, “Visitors should face
the qibla, leaving the Hujrat as-Sa’âda behind.” However, Shaikh Kamâl ad-dîn
ibn Hammâm (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) wrote, “Al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa
described the ritual of the visit in his Musnad, so, what Abu
’l-Laith and his followers reported was based on a former ijtihâd of al-Imâm
al-a’zam, who later declared that one should face the Hujrat as-Sa’âda.
’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ anhumâ), too, said that one should pay
salâm by facing the Hujrat as-Sa’âda with the qîbla being behind.” Muhammad Ibn
Jamâ’a (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), a Shâfi’î scholar who passed away in Damascus
in
Hence, the visitor should stand between the Rawdat
al-Mutahhara corner of the Hujrat as-Sa’âda and the qibla wall, Rasûlullâh’s blessed head being on his left two metres from him, then slowly turn
to face the Hujrat as-Sa’âda, leaving the qibla behind. Then he should say
salât and salâm and pray. And so were al-Imâm ash-Shâfi’îs and other imâms’
ijtihâds, and today the visit is carried out in this manner.
On the qibla side of the Hujrat as-Sa’âda, there was
not much empty space before the rooms of Rasûlullâh’s blessed wives
(radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhunna) were annexed to the Masjid as-Sa’âda; so it was
very difficult to stand facing the Muwâjahat as-Sa’âda. Visitors would stand
facing the qibla and greet in front of the door in the Rawdat al-Mutahhara wall
of the Hujrat as-Sa’âda. Later, Imâm Zain al-’Âbidîn would greet, with the
Rawdat al-Mutahhara being behind. After the annexation of the rooms of the
blessed wives to the masjid, the Hujrat as-Sa’âda was visited standing in front
of the window of the Muwâjahat ash-Sharîfa.
The imâms of Islam collected the many rules of
observances and conditions for those who live in Medina and for visitors. These
conditions and rules were codified in fiqh and manâsik books. All were compiled
clearly and in detail in Takmilat
al-
manâsik by Ayyûb Sabri Pasha (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), the author of Mir’ât al-Haramain.
The first tomb built in the history of Islam was the Hujrat al-Mu’attara, where Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam) was buried. Our master Rasûlullâh passed away in the
room belonging to his beloved wife, our mother ’Â’isha (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhâ), before noon on Monday, the twelfth of Rabî’ al-awwal
Hadrat ’Âisha’s (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ) room was
three meters high and was built with adobes and date-palm branches. It had two
doors, one on the west, which faced the Rawdat al-Mutahhara, and the other on
the north. Hadrat ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh), while he extended Masjid
as-Sa’âda in
The sixth Umayyad Kaliph Walîd (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ), when he was the governor of Medina, raised the wall around the room
and had a small dome built over it. The three graves became invisible from the
outside, and the room was secured from being entered. After he became the
Kaliph, he ordered ’Umar ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), his
successor as the governor of Medina and later the eighth Kaliph, to build a
second wall around it when the rooms of the Pure Wives (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhunna) were removed and Masjid as-Sa’âda was enlarged in
Jamâl ad-dîn al-Isfahânî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ),
vizier of the Atabeg State governed by Zengîs in Iraq and the first cousin of
Salâh ad-dîn al-Ayyûbî, constructed a grating made of sandal-and-ebony wood
around the outer wall of the Hujrat as-Sa’âda in
Marble flooring was laid on the ground between the
Shabakat as-Sa’âda and the outer walls and on the outer area in
The small dome, which was constructed with the
pentagonal wall, is called the Qubbat an-Nûr. The Kiswat ash-Sharîfa sent by the Ottoman Sultans (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ)
was laid on that dome as a cover. The big, green dome which is over the Qubbat
an-Nûr and which is called the Qubbat al-Khadrâ is the
dome of Masjid as-Sa’âda. The kiswa on the outer side of the grating, the
shabaka, used to be hung to the arches supporting the Qubbat al-Khadrâ. These
internal and external curtains were called the Sattâra. The Shabakat as-Sa’âda
has three doors, one in each of the east, west and north sides. Nobody except
the directors of the Harâm ash-Sharîf may enter the Shabakat as-Sa’âda, and no
one can enter inside the walls since there is neither a door nor a window.
There is only a small hole covered with wire gauze on top of the dome. Just
above this hole is the hole in the Qubbat al-Khadrâ. The dome of Masjid
ash-Sharîf was gray until
No one has spent as much money and effort as Sultân
’Abd al-Majîd Khân (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) did to repair and embellish Masjid
as-Sa’âda. He spent seven hundred thousand gold coins to restore the Haramain.
The restoration was completed in
put in the Khirka-i Sharîf Mosque, in Istanbul, so
Major Hâji ’Izzet Effendi (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), a professor at the
Engineering School and a designer, was sent to Medina in 1267. ’Izzet Effendi
measured every dimension and constructed a 1/53 model and sent it to Istanbul.
The model was placed in the Khirka-i
Sharîf Mosque, which was built by
’Abd al-Majîd Khân.
After ’Abd al-Majîd Khan’s repair works, the distance
between the qibla wall and the Shabakat as-Sa’âda became seven and a half
meters; from the eastern wall to the grating of the Qadam as-Sa’âda became six
meters; the width of the Shabakat ash-Shâmî became eleven meters; the Muwâjahat
ash-Sharîfa grating became thirteen meters long, and the distance between the
Muwajahat ash-Sharîfa and the Shabakat ash-Shâmî became nineteen meters. The
width of Masjid an-Nabawî on the qibla side is seventy-seven meters and its
length from the qibla wall to the Damascene wall is
To conceal the great services done to the Haramain
ash-Sharîfain and to destroy the magnificently ornamented, invaluable works by
the Ottomans, a new work of repair and extention of Masjid an-Nabawî was
ordered by ’Abd al-’Azîz of the Sa’ûdî lineage in
’Uthmân ibn Maz’ûn (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) was the
first who was buried in the Baqî’ cemetery, the only cemetry in Medina. Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) erected a big gravestone with
his blessed hands at the grave of this foster brother of his. Hence, it became
a sunna to erect grave-stones.
The lâ-madhhabî destroyed the tombs in Medina. Sultan
Mahmûd Khân (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) restored them all. After the First World
War, the British took Medina from the Ottomans
and gave the city to ’Abd al-’Azîz, who ruined all the
tombs. They destroyed the sacred buildings, even the artistically magnificent
building built over the Well of Zemzem by ’Abd al-Hamîd Khân I (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ). They destroyed even the blessed house where Rasûlullâh honoured this world with his birth. They built shops on its ground.
The first domed tomb after the Hujrat as-Sa’âda was
the dome built over the graves of Rasûlullâh’s blessed wives in
the Baqî’ cemetery. On the day our mother Zainab bint Jahsh (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhâ) died, the weather was so hot that Hadrat ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh)
set up a tent to shelter the people from the hot sun while the grave was being
dug. The tent was left over the grave for a longtime. Thenceforth tents or huts
were set up, and later domes were built over graves. The first coffin was made
again for our mother Zainab; when Hadrat ’Umar did not permit the Sahâbîs
except her mahram relatives [whom she could not have married by law] to attend
the funeral, the Sahâbîs felt sorry at the prospect of not being able to attend
the funeral, and Asmâ’ bint ’Umais said, “I saw a coffin in Ethiopia. It
prevents the corpse from being seen.” Then a coffin was made as described by
Asmâ’ bint ’Umais, and all the Sahâbîs attended the burial.
Our master Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam) used to visit the martyrs (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum) in
Uhud every year. He would greet the martyrs standing at a place called Hurrat
al-Wâqûm. He greeted each one separately when he visited them in the eighth
year of the Hegira. “They
are martyrs. They know who visits them. They hear when they are greeted and
they reply,” he said. Hadrat Fâtimat
az-Zahrâ’ (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ) used to visit Hadrat Hamza’s (radî-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anh) grave every two days and would put a mark so that the grave should
not be forgotten. She would go there every night before Fridays to perform
salât of many rak’as and would weep much.
Al-Imâm al-Baihakî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) quoted
’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ) as having said, “My father
Hadrat ’Umar and I visited the martyrs on a Friday before sunrise. My father
greeted all of them. We heard their reply. My father asked me, ‘Did you answer
me?’ ‘No, the martyrs did,’ I said. He took me on his right and said salâm to
each of them separately. We heard each of them reply three times. Father
immediately prostrated and thanked Allâhu ta’âlâ.” Hadrat Hamza, his nephew
’Abdullâh ibn Jahsh and Mus’ab ibn ’Umair (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în)
were buried in the same
grave. The remaining seventy martyrs were buried together by twos or threes in one grave, and a few are in the Baqî’ cemetery.[1]
[1] The names of all these martyrs are written in Mir’ât al-Madîna, from which the foregoing long passage is translated.