The Virtue of Prayer in Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi and the History of the Obligation of Hajj

This excerpt is taken from Sheikh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's book Al-Jawab al-Bahir fi Zuwar al-Maqabir, translated by Sheikh Ataullah Saqib.

Respect for the Prophet's Mosque and the Honored Grave​

During the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and during the caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them), all Muslims used to pray in the Prophet's Mosque and send blessings and salutations upon the Messenger of Allah during the prayer. Similarly, when entering and leaving the mosque, they would also send blessings and salutations upon him. They did not consider it necessary to go near the honored grave or face the honored grave or to say salutations loudly in the mosque. Rather, they considered raising the voice in the Prophet's Mosque to be disliked, unlike some pilgrims nowadays who raise their voices in the Prophet's Mosque, which the scholars have called an innovation. Once, Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) saw two travelers in the Prophet's Mosque whose voices were loud. He called them and said: "Do you not know that raising your voice in the Prophet's Mosque is not correct? If you were residents of Madinah, I would have certainly punished you." Thus, he let them go due to their ignorance.

Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Prayer: Chapter on Raising the Voice in the Mosque (Hadith: 240)

History of the Blessed Chamber​

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ passed away, he was buried in the chamber of Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha Siddiqah رضي الله عنها. The houses of the Mothers of the Believers were on the eastern side of the mosque, towards the Qibla. Until the last days of the Companions رضي الله عنهم, not a single house among them was taken over for the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque. About a year after the accession of Walid bin Abdul Malik, for the purpose of expanding the Prophet's Mosque, he wrote to his deputy Umar bin Abdul Aziz رحمه الله to purchase all the houses of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and incorporate them into the mosque. At that time, none of the Mothers of the Believers were alive. Consequently, all the houses were purchased and incorporated into the Prophet's Mosque. However, the chamber of Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyida Aisha رضي الله عنها remained in its original form, and its door was always kept closed. It was not possible for anyone to enter for sending salutations or prayers, although it was possible during the lifetime of the Mother of the Believers.

About 20 to 30 years before the chambers were incorporated into the Prophet's Mosque, Sayyida Siddiqah رضي الله عنها had passed away during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Muawiyah رضي الله عنه. After Amir Muawiyah رضي الله عنه, his son Yazid, then Ibn Zubair رضي الله عنهما, followed by the establishment of Abdul Malik bin Marwan's rule, and after his death, his son Walid took over the reins of government. His caliphate was established in 86 AH. By that time, except for Jabir bin Abdullah رضي الله عنهما, all the Companions had passed away. Ten years before the chamber was incorporated into the Prophet's Mosque, in 78 AH, Jabir bin Abdullah رضي الله عنهما passed away.

During the lifetime of Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyida Aisha Siddiqah رضي الله عنها, some Companions used to go to the blessed chamber for discussing some issue or explaining a hadith. Even then, those people did not feel the need to go near the honored grave, nor did anyone enter for salutations or prayers.

Structure of the Blessed Grave​

At the request of some individuals, Syeda Aisha Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to allow visiting the graves. The graves were neither very high nor flush with the ground; small pebbles were placed on the graves. There is a difference of opinion whether the graves were raised (hump-like) or flush with the ground, but according to the narration in Bukhari, they were raised. Thus, Sufyan al-Thawri stated that he saw the honored grave as raised.

Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Funerals, Chapter on What Has Been Related About the Grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr and Umar (Hadith: 1390)

Response to Salutation upon the Messenger of Allah and its Reward​

The person who attains the honor of entering the blessed chamber surely sends blessings and peace upon you because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
ما من أحد يسلم على إلا رد الله على روحي حتى أرد عليه السلام
"If anyone sends salutations upon me, Allah will return the soul to my body until I respond to his greeting."

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawood, Book of Pilgrimage: Chapter on Visiting Graves (Hadith: 2041)

Reference: There is no connection between the worldly life and the life of the grave after death; it is the first stage of the Hereafter, as the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said in Tirmidhi Sharif:
إن القبر أول منزل من منازل الآخرة فإن نجا منه فما بعده أيسر منه وإن لم ينج منه فما بعده أشد منه ما رأيت منظرا قط إلا والقبر أفظع منه
"Indeed, the grave is the first station of the Hereafter; if one is saved from it, what follows will be easier than it, and if one is not saved from it, what follows will be more severe. I have never seen a scene more terrifying than the grave."
Tirmidhi (2308), An-Nasa'i (4267), Zawa'id Musnad Ahmad 1/73, Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn 3711, Sunan al-Kubra Bayhaqi 4/56, Tahdhib al-Kamal 3/138

Undoubtedly, the grave is the first station of the Hereafter; if a person is saved from it, the next station will be easier, and if not saved, the next station will be more severe. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "I have not seen a more frightening scene than the grave."
In the narration of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), it is said: فجمع الله بين ريقي وريقه فى آخر يوم من الدنيا وأول يوم من الآخرة
"Allah combined my saliva and the saliva of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on the last day of his worldly life and the first day of the Hereafter."

Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 4451)

From these two authentic hadiths, it is understood that after death, a person's Hereafter begins; therefore, the life of the grave is the first step of the Hereafter and has no (material) connection with worldly life. We have faith in the matters of the Hereafter, and only Allah knows their true nature; we believe in them as matters of the unseen. Some people have given various interpretations and meanings to this hadith, which are absolutely unnecessary. (Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani)
For the one entering the blessed chamber, it is necessary to send salutations upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), and this is the "near greeting" to which the Prophet responds. However, regarding the greeting said outside the chamber, during prayer, or from a distant place, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever sends blessings and peace upon me once, Allah sends mercy upon him ten times."

Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Prayer: Chapter on Sending Blessings on the Prophet (peace be upon him) after Tashahhud (Hadith: 408)

This is the greeting every Muslim is obligated to send. Saying salam at the grave is Sunnah for every believer and is not exclusive to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), but the reaching of salutations from every place and every location is exclusive to him:
صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم تسليما
All the residences of the Mothers of the Believers were located on the eastern side of the mosque facing the Qiblah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
ما بين بيتي ومنبري روضة من رياض الجنة
"The space between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise."

Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Softening the Hearts: Chapter on the Basin (Hadith: 2588) Sahih Muslim, Book of Pilgrimage: Chapter on the Virtue of the Area Between His Grave and Pulpit (Hadith: 1390)

In some narrations, the word Qabri (my grave) is mentioned, which is not found in the Sahihain, and in this regard, this word does not seem correct because at that time the honored grave did not even exist.

The Virtue of Praying in Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi​

The virtue of the Mosque of Madinah is due to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself, as he built it and established its foundation on piety. In the narration of Sahihain, the Prophet ﷺ said:
صلاة فى مسجدي هذا خير من ألف صلاة فيما سواه من المساجد إلا المسجد الحرام
"Praying in my mosque carries a reward one thousand times greater than praying in other mosques, except for the Mosque of Haram."

Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of the Virtue of Prayer in Makkah and Madinah: Chapter on the Virtue of Prayer in Makkah and Madinah (Hadith: 1190) Sahih Muslim, Book of Hajj, Chapter on the Virtue of Prayer in the Mosques of Makkah and Madinah (Hadith: 1393)

The consensus of scholars is that the Mosque of Haram is superior to all other mosques, and the reward for one prayer there is equivalent to one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.
As narrated with authentic chains by Imam Ahmad, Imam Nasai, and others.

Reference: (Musnad Ahmad 3/343, Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Establishing Prayers, Chapter on the Virtue of Prayer in the Mosque of Haram and the Prophet’s Mosque, Hadith: 1302)

History of the Obligation of Hajj​

Masjid al-Haram gained its virtue due to the efforts of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), because Sayyidna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) built the Kaaba and then, by the command of Allah Almighty, invited people to perform Hajj. However, Hajj was not made obligatory at that time; therefore, in the early days of Islam, Hajj was not obligatory, and the obligation of Hajj was established in the final commands of Islam. The correct fact is that the year in which Surah Al-Imran was revealed and the delegation of Najran came, in that same year Hajj was made obligatory, and this event took place in 9 AH or 10 AH.

The scholars who have written that Hajj became obligatory in 6 AH have based their argument on the verse وَّاَتِمُّوا الْحَجَّ وَالْعُمْرَةَ لِلّٰهِ of Surah Al-Baqarah.

But according to the commentators, this verse was revealed in the year of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. This noble verse commands the completion of Hajj, but does not prove the obligation of Hajj. The Kaaba was built by Sayyidna Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and then people were invited to perform Hajj there. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) liberated the Kaaba from the control of the polytheists, and then Hajj was made obligatory upon every person who is capable. For these reasons, the Kaaba gained a double virtue. Consequently, people from all over the world began to come in large numbers to the Kaaba with the intention of performing Hajj. Thus, due to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the worship of Allah in the Kaaba began to increase so much that it was not even a tenth of that before, and worship of Allah was carried out with utmost dignity, grandeur, and sincerity.