Dought & clear - Visiting the Prophet’s Mosque .

If the pilgrim performing Hajj or 'Umrah wants to visit theProphet's
Mosque, should he form the intention of visiting the mosque or of
visiting thegrave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him)? And what is the etiquette of visiting the Prophet's
Mosque?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"If the pilgrim wants to visit the Prophet's Mosque before or after
Hajj, he should have the intention of visiting the mosque, not the
grave, because travelling to a place for the purpose of worship does
not include visiting graves, rather it includes only the three
mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam (the Sacred Mosque in Makkah), al-Masjid
al-Nabawi (the Prophet'sMosque in Madeenah) and al-Masjid al-Aqsa (in
Jerusalem), as it says in the hadeeth which was narrated from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said:
"Nojourney should be undertaken to any mosque except three: al-Masjid
al-Haraam, this mosque of mine and al-Masjid al-Aqsa." Narrated by
al-Bukhaari,1189: Muslim, 1397.
When he reaches the Prophet's Mosque, he should enter with his right
foot first and say, "Bismillaah wa'l-salaatu wa'l-salaam 'ala
Rasoolillaah. Allaahumma ighfir li dhunoobi waftah li abwaab
rahmatika. A'oodhu Billaah il-'azeem wa bi wajhihi'l-kareem wa bi
sultaanihi'l-qadeem min al-shaytaan il-rajeem (In the name of Allaah,
and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah. O Allaah,
forgive my sins and open to me the gates of Your mercy. I seek refuge
in Allaah the Almighty and in His noble Face and in His eternal Power,
from the accursed Shaytaan)." Then he should pray as he likes.
It is better for him to pray in al-Rawdah whichis the area between the
minbar of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
the room in which is his grave, because this area is one of the
gardens (riyaadh, sing. rawdah) of Paradise. When he has prayed and
wants tovisit the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), he should stand in front of it in a dignified manner and
say, "Assalaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allaahi wa
barakaatuhu. Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad kama
salayta 'ala Ibraaheem wa 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed;
Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta
'ala Ibraaheem wa 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Ashhadu
annaka Rasool-Allaah haqqan wa annaka qad balaghta al-risaalah wa
adayta al-amaanah wa nasahta al-ummah wa jaahadta fillaahi haqqa
jihaadihi. Fa jazaka Allaahu 'an ummatika afdal ma jaza nabiyyan 'an
ummatihi (Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allaah, and
His blessings. O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the
family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheemand the family
of Ibraaheem, verily You are Worthy of Praise, Fullof Glory. O Allaah,
send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You
sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem, verily You
are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. I bear witness that you are
indeed the Messenger of Allaah, thatyou conveyed the message and
fulfilled thetrust, and advised the ummah and strove truly for the
sake of Allaah. May Allaah reward you on behalf of your ummah better
than any Prophet is rewarded on behalf of his nation)."
Then he should move a little to his right and send salaams upon Abu
Bakr al-Siddeeq and pray that Allaah be pleased with him.
Then he should move a little further to his right and send salaams
upon 'Umar ibn al-Khattab andpray that Allaah be pleased with him. If
he makes du'aa' for Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
them) in an appropriate manner, that is good.
It is not permissible for anyone to seek to draw closer to Allaah by
touching the hujrah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) or by circumambulating it, or by facing it whilst making
du'aa'. Rather heshould turn to face the qiblah, because drawingcloser
to Allaah can only be done by means of that which Allaah and His
Messenger have prescribed. Acts of worship are based on following not
on innovation.
Women should not visit the grave of the Prophet(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) or any other grave, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed women who visit graves.
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh
al-Tirmidhi, 843. Rather a woman should pray and send blessings upon
the Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the place
where she is, and that will reach the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) no matter where she is. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Send blessings upon me, for
your blessings will reach me no matter where youare." And he said,
"Allaahhas angels who travel about throughout the land, conveying to
me the salaams of my ummah." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i, 1282; classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa'i, 1215.
Only men should visit al-Baqee', which is the graveyard of Madeenah.
They should say: "Al-salaamu 'alaykum ahlal-diyaar min al-mu'mineen
wa'l-muslimeen, wa innaa in sha Allaah bikum laahiqoon. Yarham Allaah
al-mustaqdimeena mina wa minkum wa'l-musta'khireen. Nas'al Allaah lana
wa lakum al-'aafiyah. Allaahumma la tahrimna ajrahum wa la taftinna
ba'dahum waghfir lana wa lahum (Peace be upon you, O dwellers of these
abodes, believers and Muslims. We will, when Allaah wills, join you.
May Allaah have mercy on those who were first (to die) and those who
were last. We ask Allaah to grant salvation to us and you. O Allaah,
deprive us not of reward (similar to theirs) and lead us not astray
after they are gone; forgive us and them)."
If he then wants to go toMount Uhud and remember what happened there
to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his
companions in that battle of jihad, trials andmartyrdom, and send
salaams upon the shuhada' (martyrs) there, such as Hamzah ibn 'Abd
al-Muttalib, the paternal uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), there is nothing wrong with that, because that is
a kind of travelling through the land as enjoined (in Islam) [cf.
al-Nahl 16:36]. And Allaah knows best.