Sending blessings at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and going to it

Ali bin Husayn saw a man who used to come to an opening by the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), go into it and supplicate. He called him and said: Shall I not tell you a hadith that my father narrated from my grandfather, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not make my grave a place of festive gathering, and do not make your houses graveyards. Send blessings upon me, for your blessings and greetings of peace reach me wherever you are."

It is narrated from Hasan bin Hasan that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not make my grave a place of festive gathering, and do not make your houses graveyards. Send blessings upon me, for wherever you send blessings upon me from, they reach me."

It is narrated from Zayd bin Aslam that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, do not make my grave an idol that is worshipped. The anger of Allah Almighty became severe against those people who took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration."

Nafi' said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) learned that people were coming to the tree under which the pledge had been given, so he ordered that the tree be cut down.

Sayyiduna Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Five days before his passing, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those before you took the graves of their prophets and their righteous people as places of prostration. Do not take graves as places of prostration; I forbid you from that."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said during his final illness: "Allah Almighty cursed the Jews and the Christians, because they took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Had there not been the fear that the blessed grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would be taken as a place of prostration, his blessed grave would have been made prominent and conspicuous.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: People were talking in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during his final illness. Sayyidah Umm Salamah or Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with them) mentioned that she had seen a church in Abyssinia in which there were pictures. On hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was the practice of those people that when a righteous man among them passed away, they would make his grave a place of prostration and make pictures of him. These people are the worst of creation."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the women who visit graves, and the women who place lamps on them and take them as places of prostration.

Ma'rur bin Suwayd said: We set out with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) for a Hajj. In the Fajr prayer he recited Surah al-Fil and Surah Quraysh. When he had completed his Hajj and was returning, at a certain place the people rushed forward. Sayyiduna Umar asked: "What is here?" He was told: "This is the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed." He said: "It was because of this that the People of the Book were destroyed: they took the relics of their prophets as places of worship. What should be done is this: if the time of prayer comes upon you here, then pray; and if it does not, then do not pray."

Muhammad (Ibn Sirin) said: The predecessors used to dislike that people should seek out and frequent the relics (sites) of the prophets.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has cursed peoples who took the graves of their prophets as places of prostration."

Ibrahim regarded it as disliked (makruh) that a mosque be built over a grave.