Sahih al-Maqal fi Masalat Shadd al-Rihal
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- al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah
Sahih al-Maqal fi Masalat Shadd al-Rihal (The Sound Discourse on the Question of Journeying to Shrines) is a polemical and juristic treatise written by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz bin Umar al-Rabian, who served as the director of the Intermediate Institute at the Islamic University of Madinah . The treatise addresses the theological and legal debates surrounding shadd al-rihal (setting out on journeys / saddling mounts) to visit graves and shrines, focusing specifically on the distinction between traveling to pray in the Prophet's Mosque and traveling with the intent of visiting the Prophet's tomb .
Background and Occasion
The work was composed as a critical response to views expressed by Sheikh Atiyyah Muhammad Salim during his commentary on Surah al-Insan and published across scholarly debates in the Journal of the Islamic University of Madinah (Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bi-al-Madinah al-Munawwarah) . Al-Rabian wrote the treatise following an earlier critique titled al-Bahth al-Amin fi Hadith al-Arba'in, stating that Salim had diverged from the established consensus of contemporary scholars in Saudi Arabia by adopting classical non-Salafi interpretations that permit setting out on journeys solely to visit the Prophet's tomb .
Contents and Core Arguments
The treatise systematically examines several points (masa'il) raised by Salim regarding the mechanics and rulings of visiting the Prophet's tomb (ziyarah):
- The Scope of Shadd al-Rihal: Al-Rabian defends the position championed by Ibn Taymiyyah and earlier scholars, asserting that journeys dedicated solely to visiting graves—including the Prophet's grave—are prohibited under the general import of the prophetic hadith: «لا تشد الرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجد: مسجدي هذا، والمسجد الحرام، والمسجد الأقصى» ("Mounts are not to be saddled except to three mosques: this mosque of mine, the Sacred Mosque, and al-Aqsa Mosque") . He argues that travel is legitimate when intended for the Prophet's Mosque itself, after which offering greetings at the grave is permissible for the visitor .
- Proximity of Salutations: Al-Rabian refutes Salim's argument that conveying greetings (salam) to the Prophet from within the mosque holds a distinct ontological privilege over greetings sent from afar . He critiques the reliance on hadiths such as «ما من أحد يسلم علي إلا رد الله علي روحي فأرد عليه السلام» ("No one sends salutations upon me except that God returns my spirit to me so that I return his greeting"), pointing out that the hadith is recorded in the Sunan of Abu Dawud with a good (hasan) chain rather than the Sahihayn, and that its phrasing is general without spatial conditions restricting it to immediate proximity .
- Practice of the Early Generations (Salaf): Citing narrations from members of the Prophetic Household, such as Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin and al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali, al-Rabian emphasizes their condemnation of frequenting the grave repeatedly, referencing the prophetic command: «لا تتخذوا قبري عيدًا، ولا تجعلوا بيوتكم قبورًا، فإن تسليمكم يصلني أينما كنتم» ("Do not make my grave a place of recurring festival, nor make your houses graves; indeed, your salutations reach me wherever you are") . He also notes Malik ibn Anas's dislike of using expressions such as "I visited the grave of the Prophet" .
- Critique of Juristic Deductions from al-Bukhari: Al-Rabian rejects Salim's claim that Imam al-Bukhari's arrangement of hadiths in his Sahih indicates agreement with the majority view allowing travel for visitation, arguing that the controversy regarding tomb journeys had not yet arisen in al-Bukhari's era and that tomb veneration emerged centuries later .
Publication
The work was published as a specialized treatise in the sixteenth volume of the Journal of the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia .
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