Will you give information about the prayer to be said while visiting graves?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Burayda (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

Hazrat Prophet taught the Companions to utter the following when they went to a graveyard:

"Assalamu alaykum ahlad diyari minal-muminin. Wa inna inshaallahu bikum lahiqun. As'alullaha lana wa lakumu'l afiyah."

"Peace be upon you, O the believing people of this land! God willing, we will join you soon. I ask Allah to forgive us and you." (1)

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said, “the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) visited some graves in Madinah. He turned toward them and said,

‘Peace be upon you, O those lying in the graves! May Allah forgive us and you. You left before us. We will follow you.’" (2)

After that, a person should read some of the chapters and verses of the Quran that he knows and send the rewards to the spirits of the dead people.

In the first years of Islam, visiting the graves was prohibited due to some customs belonging to the period of Jahiliyya. Then, it was made permissible. The aim of visiting graves is to remember death. Graves are visited so that our hearts that become stuck on the world and are hardened might soften; along with the visit, the dead are greeted and the recommended prayers are said.

It is deemed appropriate for a person who visits the graves to pray for the dead, to read the Quran and send the rewards to the spirits of the dead people lying there. It is not appropriate to cry loudly, to make noise, to kiss the bars and stones of the tomb, to hug them and cry.  

1- Muslim, Janaiz 104. See also Nasai, Janaiz 103; Ibn Majah, Janaiz 36.

2- Tirmidhi, Janaiz 59.

Questions on Islam