Is it true that it is not permissible to travel to Medina for the purpose of visiting the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, but rather for visiting his mosque, and why do we travel to the Prophet's Mosque to pray therein with a reward of a thousand prayers, while we forsake the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) where prayer is rewarded a hundred thousand-fold, even though prayers upon the Prophet reach him wherever the supplicant may be?

The issue of undertaking a journey (shadd ar-rihal) to visit the Prophet's grave (peace be upon him) is among the well-known disputed matters. This website has chosen the view held by Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and those who agreed with him, which is that undertaking a journey specifically to visit the noble grave is not legislated. Rather, one undertakes a journey to visit the Prophet's Mosque, and then the visit to the grave is subsequent to the visit to the Mosque. Visiting his grave (peace be upon him) is sunnah (definition) if the person is already in Medina. As for the narrations (ahadith) reported concerning visiting his grave (peace be upon him), they are all rejected, and none of them are authentic.