| Answer: Visiting the graveyards has a very special
significance: It reminds us of death -- the inescapable reality which every
soul is bound to face. As such, we ourselves are the real beneficiaries of
this visit. The Prophet (sws) has taught us to recite the following prayer
when we visit the city of the dead:
Peace be on you O dwellers of the graves; we shall be
among you when Allah wishes; we beg good for you and for our ownselves from
the Almighty. (Muslim, Kitābu’l Janā’iz)
On another occasion, he spelled out the reason for
visiting the graves:
This visit helps [us] in abstaining from worldly
pleasures and in reminding [ourselves] of the Day of Judgement. (Ibn Mājah,
Kitābu’l Janā’iz)
The dead apparently do not know that we are at their
graves. Their living part -- the spirit -- resides in Barzakh till the Day of
Judgement. |