1. Chief Qaazi, Abul Hasan Mawardi (d. 450 A.H.) writes in Ahkamus Sultaniya:1
“And when the caretaker of Hajj pilgrims returned, he took them for Ziyarat
of Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) to Medina, so that Hajj pilgrims may combine
the two visits and this was as a mark of respect for His Eminence (s.a.w.a.) and to
fulfill the rights of his obedience. Though it is not an obligatory part of Hajj, but
it is among recommended points of Shariah and a good worship act of Hajj
pilgrims.”
Qaazi Ayaz Maliki (d. 544 A.H.) has written in Shifa:2
“Ziyarat of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) is Sunnat according to consensus of
all Muslims, and it is an excellence, which is encouraged.”
After that he has mentioned a number of traditions in a chapter and said:
“Ishaq bin Ibrahim Faqih has said: The practice of Hajj pilgrims has always
been that they pay a visit to Medina and make intention to pray in the Masjid of
Prophet; and by seeing the tomb, pulpit, grave, place of sitting of His Eminence,
place where his hand touched, place where he stepped, a pillar on which he
reclined, place where Jibraeel brought divine revelation on him, seeing the place
where companions and Imams of Muslims have intended to inhabit that place by
worship and prayer over there, we seek blessings from and gain lessons from all
this.”
3. Ibne Hubaira (d. 560 A.H.) has written in the book of Ittefaqul Aimma:
“Malik, Shafei, Abu Hanifah, Ahmad bin Hanbal have consensus that visitation (Ziyarat) of Prophet is recommended.”3
4. Shaykh Taqiuddin Subki Shafei (d. 756 A.H.) has written a detailed book
regarding visitation (Ziyarat) of Prophet comprising of 181 pages in refutation of
Ibne Taymiyyah and entitled it: Shifaus Siqam fee Ziyarat Khairul Anam, in
which he has mentioned a large number of traditional reports on this subject.
After that he has presented a chapter on the clarification of scholars of four
schools that Ziyarat is recommended and that this act is consensual among all
Muslims.
Chief justice, Shahabuddin Khafaji Hanafi Misri (d. 1069 A.H.) has
written in Sharhe Shifa:4
“Know that it is the same tradition5 that impelled Ibne Taymiyyah and his
followers, like Ibne Qayyim to make negative statements that through it they may
declare apostasy of others and Subki has written a separate book on that; that
statement prohibits visiting the tomb of Prophet and undertaking a journey to it.”
“He thinks that through such nonsense, as even the mention of which is not
appropriate, he has defended divine monotheism, while in fact these nonsensical
things are not worthy from a logical person, what to say of an accomplished
scholar [may God forgive him].”
As for the statement of His Eminence (s.a.w.a.): “Do not make visitation of
my tomb as Eid implies that gathering there on a specified day of a year is
detestable. On the contrary it should be visited often.”6
Egyptian jurists of the four schools of jurisprudence have written in the
book of Al-Fiqha Alal Mazahibul Arba:7
Visitation (Ziyarat) of the tomb of Prophet is most important of the
recommended acts and traditions have come down regarding that.
وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيِّبِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ (٢٤)
“And they are guided to goodly words and they are guided into the path of the Praised One.”8