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Visiting Madina Munawwara
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Our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "My intercession (shafa'ath) on the Day of destruction is mandatory for the one who visits my holy grave." "Verily, whosoever made Hajj and refrained from visiting me (i.e. holy grave) has turn away from me." "One who visits my holy grave after my demise will gain the same blessing as if he had seen me during my lifetime". May Allah Almighty fill our hearts with the true love of Rasulullah, a love which will manifest itself in our practical life in the assertion and dominance of the Sunnah of Prophet (PBH).
According to the consensus of all the scholars, the piece of land on which rests the blessed body of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) is more virtuous than anything and everything |
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which includes the Ka'aba and the throne (arsh) of Allah, the Most High.
The great Hadith scholar and Hanafi jurist (faqih), Mulla Ali al-Qari (Allah have mercy upon him) states in his al-Maslak al-Mutaqassit fi al-Mansak al-Mutawassit, a commentary on Imam al-Sindhi's Lubab al-Manasic (Manasic Mulla Ali al-Qari)as follows: "All the scholars agree on the fact that the most virtuous of cities are the cities of Makkah al-Mukarramah and Madina al-Munawwara, Allah increases them in honor and respect. Then the scholars differed as to which one of the two is more virtuous Some stated that Makkah is more virtuous than holy Madina and this is the opinion of the three Imams (Abu Hanifa, Shafi'i and Malik), and has also been narrated from some Companions (Allah be pleased with them). Others stated that holy Madina is more virtuous than Makkah and this is the opinion of some Maliki scholars and those who followed them from the Shafi'i school. It was said that this was also narrated from some of the Companions (Allah be pleased with them). It is possible that this was during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) or it was for those who migrated to holy Madina from holy Makkah (Muhajirin).
However, the above difference of opinion is with regards to other than the blessed grave of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and the Ka'aba, for Ka'aba is more virtuous than Madina with the exception of the Prophet's (Allah bless him & give him peace) grave according to all the scholars. Similarly, the blessed grave of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is more virtuous than Masjid al-Haram without any difference of opinion among the scholars. So much so that the majority of the scholars (jumhur) have stated that, the piece of land on which rests the blessed body of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is the most virtuous of lands on the face of this earth by the consensus (ijma') of all the scholars even more virtuous than Ka'aba…and the throne (arsh), as some of them have explicitly mentioned.
Thus, Qadhi Iyadh and others (Allah have mercy on them all) have related the consensus of the scholars on the fact that the land on which lies the blessed Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is more virtuous than even Ka'aba, and that the difference of opinion among the scholars is besides the grave" (Manasic Mulla Ali al-Qari, p. 531-532). Qadhi Iyadh al-Maliki (Allah have mercy on him) states:
"There is no difference of opinion in that the grave of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is the most virtuous land on earth." (al-Shifa' bi ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa, p. 595). The great Hanafi jurist (faqih), Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) states:
"And Makkah is more virtuous than Madina according to the preferred opinion with the exception of the land on which rests the blessed body of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), for that is virtuous unrestrictedly, even more than Ka'aba, 'Arsh and the Kursi."
Allama Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) also agrees with the above statement of Imam al-Haskafi in his super-commentary (hashiya), thus it relates to the 'Manasik' of Mulla Ali al-Qari, which has been mentioned earlier.
Therefore, there is complete consensus of the scholars on the fact that the area of the land on which rests the body of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) i.e. his holy grave is more blessed and more virtuous than everything which includes the Ka'aba and the throne of Allah Almighty.
This is in accordance with the belief of the Ahlal-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) is the best and most beloved of all creation, thus even the land where his body rests has been given this status that to become the most virtuous of lands.
Some people may think how can the holy grave of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) be more virtuous than even the throne (arsh) of Allah Most High? The answer to this is that both 'Arsh and Kursi' are also the creation of Allah Most High and He is not sitting (in every sense of the word) on his throne. He is pure from time and space, thus the Aqidah of the Ahlal-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah is that Allah Almighty is not restricted to any time or space, though His knowledge encompasses everything. The most venerable and virtuous creature is the messenger of Allah (PBH). Hence Almighty Allah created the light (noor) of the messenger (BPH) at first before he creates any thing and any one.
Visiting our Prophet (PBH) and the Sacred square of Rasulullah at Madina Munawwara is indeed among the greatest blessings and fortunes. Whoever is blessed with the opportunity of visiting our beloved Prophet (PBH) should have an understanding of the tremendous significance and the wonderful fortune of this Sacred Visit. A windfall of the greatest reward has come his way. He must, therefore, acquire the maximum benefit from this golden opportunity which Allah Almighty has bestowed on him.
Many people, due to lack of knowledge, or proper understanding of the importance of the visiting try to lose this great chance of gaining the great and wonderful spiritual benefits and rewards.
According to the consensus of Muslim scholars, visiting the holy grave of Rasulullah is one the highest desirable act of worship. Therefore those who proceed for Hajj should try their best to visit him (PBH).
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