THE PRINCIPLE OF LOVE & DESIRE || The Meaning of Approaching the Prophet (ﷺ) After His Death

His saying "come to you": coming to the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was present is clear, like calling to him, whereas when he was absent and after his death, "coming to him" means calling to him and referring to him, as Allah, the Most High, said:

And He, the Most High, said:

Hence it is "referring" and "coming to" what was revealed from the Book and the Sunnah, and likewise, "coming to the Messenger" for those who wrong themselves is by returning to that which he commanded, so if he returns to his commandments and he does so within the Prophet's lifetime, then he does so in obedience to him and he does so returning from disobedience to him, and likewise in his absence and death.

Seeking Allah's forgiveness is possible in every place and time, and the Messenger seeking forgiveness also continues in his absence and after his death, because he was commanded to seek forgiveness for the believing men and women, and he is obedient to Allah in everything He commands him to do. The repenter is within the parameters of iman since disobedience reduces iman and repen- tance increases imän; therefore, he receives the Prophet's (ﷺ) request for forgiveness for him in accordance to his level of iman. 

However, in the case of people coming to the Messenger's (ﷺ) after his death saying, "Forgive me," "Ask your Lord for me this and that," "Make du'a' for me," or saying in his absence, "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), make du'a' for me," "Forgive me," "Ask your Lord this and that for me," there is no basis for this; Allah never commanded this and neither did any of the well-known Salaf of this ummah from the first three generations; nor was it known among them, and even if it was just mustaḥabb (preferred), the Salaf would have done it and it would have been known; in fact, they would be famous for it and it would have been reported from them.

If something like this was a way to achieve forgiveness of sins and to attain one's needs, then the importance and reasons to do it and report it would be abundant, especially for those who were dedicated to doing good. Therefore, if it is not known that they used to do this and it is not reported from any of them, then it is clear that this was not something that was preferred or obligatory. Rather, what is reported from the Prophet (ﷺ), which is affirmed, is that he forbade his grave to be made as a place of celebration, or made an object of worship, or made into a masjid.(11)

As for what some of the fuqaha' mention, such as al-'Utbah's story about a Bedouin who came to the Prophet's (ﷺ) grave and said, "O best of creation, Allah says: And if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you (O Muhammad)' [Surah an-Nisa' 4:64], and indeed I have come to you." Then 'Utbah saw the Prophet in a dream and told him to give glad tidings to the Bedouin.(12) This story and others like it about the Prophet's grave and the graves of many of the righteous are just for those who are weak in their iman and are ignorant of the greatness of the Messenger and that which he commanded. But if a person such as this is unable to abstain due to his need for this kind of thing, so that his imän may not become confused or hypocrisy grows within him, then he will be similar to those who were given gifts to soften their hearts during the life of the Prophet, as he said:

It was makruh (disliked) for them to take the money. Their need for the money was like the need some people have for the kind of stories mentioned previously.

As for what is legislated which is present in the Sunnah, then it is the du'a' of the Muslim to his Lord, with the intercession of the Prophet (ﷺ), not his du'a' in his absence or after his death, as in the hadith reported by at-Tirmidhi (who declared it authentic), in which the Prophet (ﷺ) taught a man to say:

Allah, the Most High, said:

And He, the Most High, said:

Then Allah, the Most High, said: 

Allah swears by Himself that He negates imän for whoever does not possess two things: making Him a judge in all that they differ upon and then not feeling any opposition within themselves regarding the judgment. This requires that there is no difficulty in Allah's commands and prohibitions for those who follow them. Allah's wisdom must contain commands and prohibitions, even if it also includes things that are permissible; and if the obligations and prohibitions were harmful for the slaves without any overriding pleasure, the slave would not be blameworthy for finding something that is harmful and corruptive as difficult.