الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي قبل حج من زار النبي، ووجب لهم الشفاعة في يوم يفصل فيه بين السعيد والشقي، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع 

الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

 

Muslims, the Hajj is now coming to an end, the last rites are being performed, the jamarat are being stoned for the third and last time and the hujjaaj are packing their bags and heading for al-Madina al-Munawarra, the city of the Prophet, in order to visit the Messenger of Allah. Although this stage of the journey, this visit to the qabr of the Messenger of Allah, is not, strictly-speaking, one of the rites of Hajj, it is a part of the journey that no Muslim should miss out on and is considered by the ijma of the ulama to be strongly recommended if not a sunna. Qadi Iyad says in his Shifa,

 

وزيارة قبره صلى الله عليه وسلم سنة من سنن المسلمين مجمع عليها، وفضيلة مرغب فيها

 

“Visiting the tomb of the Prophet is a sunna among the Muslims on which there is agreement. It is a virtue which is encouraged.” And Imam an-Nawawi said,

 

اعلم أنه ينبغي لكل من حجّ أن يتوجه إلى زيارة رسول اللّه صلى اللّه عليه وسلم سواء كان ذلك طريقه أو لم يكن فإن زيارته صلى اللّه عليه وسلم من أهمّ القربات وأربح المساعي وأفضل الطلبات .

 

“Know that every one who does Hajj should go to visit the Messenger of Allah, regardless of whether it is on his way or not, for visiting him is one of the most important means of drawing near to Allah, one of the most profitable endeavours that can be undertaken and one of the best things that could be asked for.” Now, some people claim that while it is beneficial to visit Madina, there is no harm in missing it and it is not something about which the Haji need be overly concerned. And it is only permissible to make the visit if your main intention is to pray in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, not visit his tomb, for they say that the Messenger of Allah forbade that. Such statements can only emanate from hearts empty of love for the Messenger of Allah, for it has been the practice of all sincere Muslims, going right back to the time of Companions, to come to Madina for no other reason but to visit their beloved. We mentioned before in a previous khutba that when the Prophet died, Bilal felt compelled to leave the city of the Prophet because everything there reminded him of the absence of his beloved and that he lived for many years in Syria, taking part in many battles and never once in that time returning to Madina. Then, one night, the Prophet came to him in a dream and said, 

ما هذه الجفوة يا بلال؟ أما آن لك أن تزورني؟

 

“What is this estrangement, Bilal? Has the time not come for you to come and visit me.” Then, as soon as he woke up, he packed his things and made for Madina, making his way directly to the grave of the Messenger of Allah as soon as he arrived.”

And what sincere lover could ever decline to make such a visit when the Prophet said,

 

من زارني بعد موتي فكأنما زارني في حياتي

 

“If anyone visits me after my death, it will be as if he has visited me during my lifetime.” And he also said in a hadith narrated by Ibn Umar,

 

من حج فزار قبري بعد موتي كان كمن زارني في حياتي وصحبني

 

“If you do Hajj and visit me after my death, it will be like you visited me in my lifetime and became my companion.” Thus, any visit to the Prophet, especially those made in the course of the hajj, is like visiting him when he was alive and keeping his company, and what sincere Muslim would pass up on such an opportunity? By Allah, what sincere Muslim would not drop everything, would not give up everything he had, would not set out immediately if it meant that he could spend one moment in his company? For many Muslims, such an opportunity only comes about once or twice in a lifetime, so how can anyone come and say that it is not permitted to travel with the express purpose of visiting the qabr of the Messenger of Allah. Subhanallah, there can be no explanation for such statements except that the hearts they emanate from are empty of even an iota of true love and longing for the Messenger of Allah. By Allah, we are even encouraged to visit the tombs of ordinary Muslims, for the Prophet said, 

كنت نهيتكم عن زيارة القبور آلا فزوروها فإنها تذكر الآخرة

 

“I used to forbid you from visiting graves, but now you should visit them for they remind you of the Hereafter.” And he himself visited the graves of his Companions in Baqi on a regular basis, so how could that not be so with the tomb of the very best of creation? 

Do they not know that when you visit the Prophet and greet him, he returns your greeting? The Prophet said,

 

ما من أحد يسلّم عليّ عند قبري إلا رد الله عليّ روحي حتى أرد عليه السلام

 

“There is no one who greets me by my graveside except that Allah returns my ruh to me so that I can return his greeting.” Do they not know that the reward for visiting the Prophet is equivalent to completing a second hajj? The Prophet said,

 

من حجّ إلى مكة ثم قصدني في مسجدي كتبت له حجّتان مبرورتان

 

“Whoever goes on Hajj to Makka and then comes to visit me in my mosque will have two accepted Hajjs written for him.” 

Do they not know that visiting him is one of the reasons for Allah forgiving them thejr wrong actions? Al-Utbi narrated that he was sitting near the grave of the Messenger when a desert Arab came and said,

 

السلام عليك يا رسول الله سمعت الله يقول "ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم جآءوك فاستغفروا الله واستغفر لهم الرسول لوجدوا الله توابا رحيما " وقد جئتك مستغفرا من ذنبي مستشفعا بك إلى ربي

 

“Peace be upon you, Messenger of Allah, I heard Allah say, ‘If only when they wronged themselves they had come to you and asked Allah's forgiveness and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them they would have found Allah Ever-Returning, Most Merciful.’ I have come to you seeking forgivenesss for my wrong actions and asked for your intercession with my Lord.’ Then he recited a few lines of poetry in praise of the Prophet and went away, whereupon my eyes became heavy and I fell asleep. And in my sleep I saw the Prophet and he said to me, 

يا عتبي إلحق الأعرابي فبشره أن الله قد غفر له

 

‘Utbi, catch up with that desert Arab and give him the good news that Allah has forgiven him.’”

Do they not know that they have come to the very best spot on the whole of the planet earth, greater even than the haram in Makka, for in his Shifa, Qadi Iyad states categorically that there is no dispute that the place of the grave of the Prophet is the best place on the earth.

Do they not know that the Prophet has promised to intercede and bear witness on behalf of all who visit him in his grave? The Prophet said,

من زار قبري وجبت له شفاعتي

 

“My intercession is obligatory for all who visit my grave.” Do they not know that failing to come and visit him is tantamount to shunning the Prophet and cutting him out of their  life? The Prophet said, 

من حج ولم يزر قبري فقد جفاني

 

“Whoever does Hajj and does not visit me has shunned me.” And do they not know that by travelling from Makka to Madina, they are following in the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah and his Companions and emulating him in making hijra. You are going from the House of Allah, where you are imbued with a profound sense of the presence of the Divine and a greater love for your Lord is fostered in your heart, to the City of his Prophet, where you cannot help but feel the sweetness of the Prophetic presence that pervades every part of the city and especially his mosque and qabr, and where your love and yearning for him, and by extension his umma, cannot help but grow. So make firm intentions now to visit him. This is not to say, however, that the Prophet’s presence cannot be felt elsewhere, for any time you greet him and say salawat upon him, those salawat reach the Prophet and he responds. So, akthiru min as-salaati ‘alayhi and kno w that the

 

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته. قال الله سبحانه وتعالى في كتابه الكريم: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ وابْتَغُوا إِلَيهِ الوَسِيلةَ

 

Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “You who have iman! have taqwa of Allah and seek the wasila/ the means of drawing near to Him.” 

Know that there is a number of adabs that should be followed by all who visit the Messenger of Allah that has been passed down to us by all the great men of Allah. Firstly, in the same as you keep saying allahumma labayk as you make your way to the House of Allah, you should start saying salawat on the Prophet as soon as you starting heading in the direction of his city. And as soon as you see the first trees on the outskirts of Madina, you should increase the frequency of your salawat until  when you step inside the city, you should greet the Messenger of Allah and make dua that you benefit from your visit to him. A particular dua recommended by Imam an-Nawawi is for you to say,

 

اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ عَليَّ أبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ وَارْزُقْنِي في زِيارَةِ قَبْرِ نَبِيِّكَ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم ما رزقْتَهُ أوْلِياءَكَ وأهْلَ طَاعَتِكَ واغْفِرْ لي وارْحمنِي يا خَيْرَ مَسْؤُول

 

“O Allah,  open for us the gates of Your mercy and give us for visiting the grave of Your Prophet that which you gave Your awliya and the people of obedience. Forgive us and have mercy on us, O You who are the best One who is asked.” Then you head straight to the mosque of the Prophet or as soon as you can, for he is your host and the first thing a guest should do is greet his host. Ibn Habib said,

“When you enter the Prophet’s mosque, you should say,

 

بسم الله، وسلام على رسول الله عليه السلام، السلام علينا من ربنا، وصلى الله وملائكته على محمد. اللهم اغفر لي ذنوبي، وافتح لي أبواب رحمتك وجنتك، واحفظني من الشيطان الرجيم

 

‘In the name of Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon us from our Lord. Allah and His angels bless Muhammad. O Allah, forgive us our wrong actions and open for us the gates of Your mercy and Your Garden and preserve us from the accursed shaytan!’

“Then you should go to the Rawda/ the Meadow which is that part of the mosque between the grave and the minbar. Pray two rak‘ats there in which you praise Allah before standing at the grave. Ask Him for the complete fulfillment of the intention which brought you out to visit him and for help in realising it. If your two rak‘ats are outside the Rawda, that is sufficient although it is better if they are in the Rawda. The Prophet said, 

 

ما بين منبري وقبري روضة من رياض الجنة، ومنبري على ترعة من ترع الجنة

 

‘The area between my house and the minbar is one of the meadows (rawdas) of the Garden. My minbar is on one of the raised gardens of the Garden.’

“Then you stand at the grave with humility and respect, and bless him and give what praise you can. You greet Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and make supplication for them and do a lot of prayer in the mosque of the Prophet night and day. Do not forget to go to the mosque of Quba’ and the graves of the martyrs.” End of quote

When standing at the grave of the Messenger of Allah, you should face him, standing adjacent to his face, and not raise your voice. In his shifa, Qadi Iyad narrates that Abu Ja'far, the amir al-muminin, was disputing with Malik in the Prophet's Mosque, so Malik said,

 

يا أمير المؤمنين، لا ترفع صوتك في هذا المسجد فإن الله تعالى أدّب قوما فقال: لا ترفعوا أصواتكم فوق صوت النبي...، ومدح قوما فقال: إن الذين يغضون أصواتهم عند رسول الله أولئك الذين امتحن الله قلوبهم للتقوى لهم مغفرة وأجر عظيم، وذم قوما فقال: إن الذين ينادونك من وراء الحجرات أكثرهم لا يعقلون. وإن حرمته ميتا كحرمته حيا

 

‘Amir al-Mu'minin, do not raise your voice in this mosque. Allah taught the people how to behave by saying, “Do not raise your voices above the Prophet.” He praises people with the words, “Those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah.” And He censures people, saying, “As for those who call out to you from outside your private quarters, most of them do not use their intellect.” Respect for him when he is dead is the same as respect for him when he was alive.’

“Abu Ja‘far was humbled by this and became still. Then he asked Malik whether he should face the qibla when he made dua there or face the Messenger of Allah?’ Malik replied, 

 

ولِم تصرف وجهك عنه وهو وسيلتك ووسيلة أبيك آدم عليه السلام إلى الله تعالى يوم القيامة ؟ بل استقبله واستشفع به فيشفعه الله قال الله تعالى :ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم جآءوك

 

‘Why would you turn your face from him when he is your wasila/ means and the means of your father, Adam, to Allah on the Day of Rising? I face him and ask him to intercede and Allah will grant his intercession. Allah says, “If, when you wronged yourselves, they had come to you.”’

We ask Allah to increase us and all those who visit the Messenger of Allah in love of him, and we ask that He rid this umma of all those who treat him with disrespect and bar access to those who seek to visit their beloved. We ask Allah to convey our salaams to the Messenger of Allah and unite us with him in this world and the Next. And we ask that he grant us his shafa’a on that day when no shafa’a is accepted except for his.

 

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. 

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.  

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.