Source: Shumara al-Sunnah, Jhelum
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to visit the graveyard after Eid prayer, as many people commonly do?
❖ Answer:
⚠️ Visiting graves is generally a sanctioned and permissible act in Islam, but attaching it to a specific day such as Eid, with acts like:
- Laying flowers on graves
- Organizing mass visits
- Treating it as a religious observance
…is considered a reprehensible innovation (بدعت قبیحہ) and a blameworthy act.
❖ Historical Perspective:
The righteous generations (خير القرون)—including the Sahabah (Companions)—never practiced this. Despite their superior understanding and immense love for the Prophet ﷺ, they never dedicated the day of Eid to grave visitation. If they did not consider it part of religion, how can it be religious today?
❖ Statements of the Scholars:
✅ Imam Malik ibn Anas (93–179 AH) said:
“Whoever introduces something in this Ummah which was not practiced by its predecessors, it is as though he accuses the Prophet ﷺ of betraying his mission.”
He further quoted:
﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ﴾
“This day I have perfected your religion for you…”
(al-Ma’idah: 3)
📘 [al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam by Ibn Hazm 6/58 – Chain: Hasan]
✅ Al-Imam Ibn al-Hajj al-Maliki (d. 737 AH) said:
“It is the trick of Satan to divert people from Sunnah by presenting alternate acts as meritorious. One such example is when people visit graves before returning home on Eid day, under the impression that it is a noble act of loyalty to the deceased.”
He strongly condemned the practice, especially due to:
- Women leaving homes adorned and beautified on Eid
- Immodesty and lack of decorum at graves
- Replacement of Sunnah with innovated and prohibited acts
📘 [al-Madkhal 1/286]
❖ Summary:
✘ Visiting graves on Eid as a ritual is not from the Sunnah.
✘ It is a cultural innovation, not supported by Qur’an, Sunnah, or the Salaf.
✔ Graves can be visited anytime—without fixing a day or associating it with Eid.
✔ Any action in Islam must be backed by authentic precedent, or it falls into reprehensible innovation (بدعت).
