Ziyarah in Makkah
Ziyarah means to visit religious sites or sites from the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Often times people become confused between those sites which are sunnah to visit - meaning it carries reward to visit them - and sites which are interesting due to their historically significance in the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
We will cover the sites which are recommended to visit by the Prophet ﷺ which carry extra rewards to visit.
The cemetery
These are sunnah to visit because the Prophet ﷺ told us to visit cemetaries to remember death. Women are not permitted to enter the graveyards in Saudi Arabia.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Visit the graves, for they remind you of the Hereafter."
Muslim
When visiting the graveyard read the following du'a:
“Assalaamu ‘alaykum ahl al-diyaar min al-mu’mineen wa’l-Muslimeen, in sha Allah bikum laahiqoon, as’al Allaha lana wa lakum al-‘aafiyah”
Peace be upon you O people of the dwellings, believers and Muslims, In sha Allah we will join you, I ask Allah to keep us and you safe and sound
Maqbarah al-Ma’la
This is the graveyard near Masjid Al Haram in Makkah, often wrongly called “Jannatul Mu’alla”. Many sahaba including the wife of the Prophet ﷺ Khadijah رضي الله عنها are buried here.
Historically significant sites
There are some sites for which it is not an act of worship and there is no reward for visiting them but they are linked to the biography of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. There is also no act of worship to be performed there and praying at these places or making du'a and touching or kissing them is not from Islam and sinful.
Some popular sites which people visit, not for reward but to understand the biography of the Prophet ﷺ:
- The cave of Hira where the Prophet ﷺ first received revelation
- The cave of Thawr where the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه hid during the migration to Madinah
