Praise be to
Allaah.
It is prescribed to visit graves in order to learn a
lesson from that and to remember the Hereafter. That is subject to the
condition that one does not say anything that will anger the Lord, such
as calling upon the one who is buried or seeking his help instead of
Allaah, or praising him and saying that he is for certain in Paradise,
etc.
The purpose of visiting the graves is twofold:
(a)
The visitor benefits from remembering death and the dead, remembering
that their destiny will be either Paradise or Hell. This is the primary
purpose of the visit.
(b)
The deceased also benefits and is treated kindly by the visitor
greeting him with salaams, making du’aa’ for him, praying for forgiveness
for him. This applies only to Muslims. Among the du’aa’s that may be
recited are:
“Assalaamu ‘alaykum ahl al-diyaar min al-mu’mineen
wa’l-Muslimeen, in sha Allaah bikum laahiqoon, as’al Allaaha lana wa
lakum al-‘aafiyah (peace be upon you O people of the dwellings,
believers and Muslims, In sha Allaah we will join you, I ask Allaah
to keep us and you safe and sound).”
It is permissible to raise the hands when
reciting this du’aa’, because of the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah who said:
“The Messenger of Allaah [an error occurred while processing this directive] (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out one night, and I sent
Bareerah to follow him and see where he went. She said, ‘He went towards
Baqee’ al-Gharqad [the graveyard in Madeenah], and he stood at the bottom
of al-Baqee’ and raised his hands, then he went away.’ Bareerah came
back to me and told me, and when morning came I asked him about it.
I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, where did you go out to last night?
He said, ‘I was sent to the people of al-Baqee’, to pray for them.’”
But you should not face the grave when
making du’aa’ for them; rather you should face the direction of the
Ka’bah, because the Prophet [an error occurred while processing this directive] (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade prayer (salaah) facing
graves, and du’aa’ is the heart and soul of salaah, as is well known,
and is subject to the same rulings. The Prophet [an error occurred while processing this directive]
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Du’aa’ is worship”
then he recited the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “And
your Lord said: “Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)
and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation).” [Ghaafir
40:60]
You should not walk between the graves
of the Muslims wearing your shoes. It was narrated that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah [an error occurred while processing this directive]
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If I were to walk
on hot coals or on a sword, or if I were to mend my shoes using my feet,
that would be better for me than if I were to walk on the grave of a
Muslim. And it makes no difference to me if I were to relieve myself
in the midst of the graves or in the middle of the market-place [i.e.,
both are equally bad].’” (Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1567)
We ask Allaah, the Most High, the Omnipotent, to have
mercy upon our dead and the deceased Muslims.