A Comment on the Hadits on Travelling for the Purposes of Ziyarat

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh ‘Isa ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mani` al-Humayri, Director of the Da’irat al-Awqaf in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, wrote, al-I’ilam bi Istihbab Shadd ar-Rihal li Ziyarati Qabr Khayr al-Anam ‘Alayhi asw-Swalat wa as-Salam, “The Notification Concerning the Recommendation of Travelling to Visit the Grave of the Best of Creation Blessings & Peace be upon Him.”

The Wahhabi sect cite the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) command, “Do not travel except to three mosques,” as a reason to prevent travelling for the purposes of ziyarat to the Rawdhah of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  Shaykh ‘Isa al-Humayri said, if people claim that Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.), in his answer in Radd ‘ala al-Akhna’i, said, “The order to visit graves does not entail travel,” I answer, “The hadits is general, without any condition.  If ziyarat implies a journey, there is no way for us legally to prohibit that journey.  Further, the higher reference in case of difference of opinion, is the shari’ah, and the Prophet (s.a.w.) called the journeying, ‘ziyarat,’ as in this hadits, ‘A man visited a close brother of him in another village, so Allah Ordered an angel to meet him on the way and ask him, ‘Where are you going?’

He answered, ‘I intend to visit a brother of mine in the next village.’

He asked him, ‘Is there any business between him and you?’

He replied, ‘None except the love of Allah.’

He said, ‘Know that I am a messenger from your Lord to tell you that Allah Loves you both as you both love each other for His Sake.’’  This was narrated by Imam ‘Asakir ad-Din Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (r.a.) in his Swahih.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) here made ziyarat entail both travel and non-travel.  To limit the ziyarat to something not entailing travel is an abuse of the meaning of the word and a deviation from the fundamentals of the shari’ah, and Allah (s.w.t.) Knows best.”