At the Grave of Allah�s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)

At the Grave of Allah�s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)

Words of Shaikh Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baz (rahimahullah)

At the Grave of Allah�s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)
Raising voices near the grave of Allah�s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) or standing near it for long hours is in contradiction to what is prescribed. Allah, the Glorified, has forbade the Ummah from raising their voices above the voice of Allah�s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and from speaking aloud and He has encouraged lowering the voices in His Saying, �O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah. Verily! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not. Verily! Those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah's Messenger, they are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for piety. For them is forgiveness and a great reward.� [Soorah al-Hujurat (49): 1-3] *11
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Translator's Notes
*11: Imam Ibn Katheer (rahimahullah) writes in the tafseer of this verse, 'This (verse) contains another kind of favorable behavior. Allah, the Exalted, is teaching the believers that they should not raise their voices above the voice of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). Al-Bukharee recorded that Ibn Abi Mulaykh said, 'the two righteous ones, Abu Bakr and Umar, almost earned destruction when they raised their voices before the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) who was receiving the delegation of Bani Tamim. One of them recommended al-Aqra ibn Habis, the member of the Banu Mujashi, while the other recommended another man�Abu Bakr said to Umar, 'You only wanted to contradict me,' while Umar said, 'I did not intend to contradict you.' Their voices then became loud, thereupon Allah, the Exalted, sent down this verse,... Abdullah Ibn az-Zubayr said, 'After that, Umar's voice was so low that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) had to ask him to repeat what he said so that he could understand what he was saying to him.' �Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas Ibn Malik (radhi allahu anhu) said, 'When this verse was revealed, �...� Thabit Ibn Qais, whose voice was loud, said, 'I was the one who raised his voice above the voice of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). I am among the dwellers of the Fire. My good deeds have been done in vain.' He remained in his house feeling distressed, and the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) noticed his absence. So some men went to Thabit and said to him, 'The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) noticed your absence. What is the matter with you?' Thabit said, 'I used to raise my voice above the voice of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and speak loudly in front of him. My deeds have been rendered useless and I am among the people of the Fire.' They went to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and told him what Thabit said and the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, 'Nay, he is among the dwellers of Paradise.'�' [Musnad Ahmad (3): 137]

Allah prohibited speaking to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) in a loud voice, just as one speaks loudly to another in a way that offends him. Instead, they were required to speak to him in terms of respect, honor and calmness. This is why Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored, said, 'nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another,' just as He said in another verse, 'Make not the calling of the Messenger (Muhammad) among you as your calling of one another' [Soorah an-Nur (24): 63]

Allah's statement, 'lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not' means, 'we ordered you to refrain from raising your voices to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), so that he will not get angry with you, because in doing so, you will anger Allah.' The good deeds of the one who caused the Prophet's anger will become useless without him even knowing. In the Saheeh, there is a Saheeh Hadeeth that states, 'Verily, a man might utters a word that pleases Allah, the Exalted, even though he does not recognize the significance of his word, and on the its account Paradise is written for him. Verily, a man might utter a word carelessly that angers Allah, the Exalted, and on its account, he is cast in the Fire farther than the distance between the heavens and earth.' Allah then ordains lowering one's voice before the Messenger and encourages, directs and recommends this better behavior, 'Verily! Those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah's Messenger, they are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for piety. For them is forgiveness and a great reward.' [Soorah al-Hujurat (49): 3]�� [end quote]

Thus, it was forbidden to raise one's voice in the presence of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), while he was living, and it is forbidden to raise one's voice at the grave of Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) in Medina, now that he is dead. It has been narrated that the great Khalifah, Umar ibn Khattab (radhi allahu anhu) once heard two men raising their voice in the Prophet's mosque, so he asked them, �Do you realize where you are?� But before they could answer, he asked them, �Where are you both from?� They replied they were from Taaif. He then said to them, �If you had said that you were from Medina, I would have given you both severe lashes for raising your voices in the mosque of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).� [Saheeh al-Bukharee]