Visiting Graveyards: 3 Objectives and 8 Legal Guidelines in Islam

3 Sharʿī Objectives of Visiting Graveyards and 8 Important Rulings Regarding Graves
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 522

❖ Question​

A query was received from Aḥmad Khān Phalāḍiyūn (Sindh Province):


Some people object that if Ahl-e-Ḥadīth do not endorse Qul, Khatm, Chihlum etc., then what do they do when they visit graveyards?
What was the Prophet’s ﷺ practice regarding visiting graves?
Is it forbidden to recite the Qur’an in graveyards?
It is also said that you oppose conveying Qur’anic reward to the deceased.


Kindly respond to this issue in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
(Aḥmad Khān Marī Balūch, Sindh)

❖ Answer​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!

✦ ① Three Sharʿī Objectives of Visiting Graveyards​

➊ Following the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ​

◈ The Prophet ﷺ would visit graveyards and make duʿā for the deceased.


Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) narrates:


“He ﷺ reached Baqīʿ, stood for a long time, raised his hands three times, then turned back…”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Ḥadīth 974 (Dār al-Salām: 2256)


The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Your Lord has commanded you to seek forgiveness for the people of Baqīʿ.”
(Same Ḥadīth)


ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Mulaykah (a reliable tābiʿī) reports:


Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah visited her brother ʿAbd al-Raḥmān’s grave. When asked about the previous prohibition, she replied:
“Yes, initially it was forbidden, then it was permitted.”
Al-Mustadrak: 1/376, Ḥadīth 1392; Al-Bayhaqī: 4/78 – Authentic


✔ Two key rulings are established:
— The prohibition of grave visitation is abrogated.
— Women may occasionally visit the graves of close relatives.


Also see: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 1283; Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 3, p. 148

➋ Reminder of Death and the Hereafter​

“Visit the graves, for they remind you of death.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 976, Dār al-Salām: 2259


“I had prohibited you from visiting graves; now visit them, but do not utter anything indecent.”
Sunan al-Nasā’ī 4/89, Ḥadīth 2035; Al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 2160 – Authentic

➌ Making Duʿā for Forgiveness​

◈ One of the purposes of visiting graves is to offer duʿā for the deceased, especially fellow believers.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ did this himself, and it is part of the Sunnah.


Refer: Kitāb al-Janā’iz by Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله

✦ ② Eight Important Rulings Related to Graves and Their Visitation​

❶ Ahl-e-Ḥadīth Practices in Graveyards​

✔ They make duʿā and remember death and the Hereafter.
✔ They avoid all baseless rituals, such as:
— Placing sheets over graves
— Observing Qul, Khatm, Chihlum
— Reciting Qur’an for conveying reward


✔ These practices have no basis in the Qur’an, Sunnah, or the practice of the Salaf.

❷ Condemnation of Shirk-Based Grave Practices​

Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله writes:


“Many of the misguided supplicate and humble themselves at graves more than in masājid. They place hope in grave prayer and duʿā more than they do in the three sacred mosques.”
Al-Amr bil Ittibāʿ wa al-Nahy ʿan al-Ibtidāʿ, p. 63


✔ This highlights the danger of grave worship and false beliefs about grave sanctity.

❸ Prohibition of Travel to Graves​

“Do not undertake a journey except to three mosques…”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1189; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1397


✔ Even Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) was prohibited from going to Mount Ṭūr.
Muwaṭṭa’ Mālik, Vol. 1, p. 109, Ḥadīth 239 – Authentic


Shāh Walīullāh al-Dihlawī رحمه الله writes:


“Graves, worship sites of saints, and Mount Ṭūr are all equal in prohibition.”
Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah, Vol. 1, p. 192

❹ Frequent Visitation by Women is Prohibited​

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed women who frequently visit graves.”
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1056 – Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ

❺ Visiting Non-Maḥram Graves is Prohibited for Women​

◈ The Prophet ﷺ sternly warned his daughter Fāṭimah (رضي الله عنها) for doing so.
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3123; Al-Mustadrak 1/373–374 – Authentic

❻ Visiting Graves for Reflection is Mandated​

✔ To remind oneself of mortality and the reality of the Hereafter.

❼ Rejecting Innovations in Grave Visitation​

✔ There is no authentic basis for Qur’an recitation at graves for the purpose of conveying reward.
Sūrat al-Najm: 39


“And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for.”


Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله writes:


“Imām al-Shāfiʿī and his followers derived from this verse that reciting the Qur’an for the deceased does not benefit them, as it is not their own action. The Prophet ﷺ never instructed his ummah to do so.”
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, Vol. 6, p. 38 (Sūrah al-Najm: 39)

❽ No Validity of Qul, Khatm, or Chihlum Rituals​

✔ These practices are not supported by Qur’an, Sunnah, or the practice of the Ṣaḥābah.
✔ All are to be considered innovations (bidʿah) with no reward.


ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
(9 Rabīʿ al-Awwal 1426 AH)