Visiting the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
The significance and virtue of the visit:
 Scholars agree that the visit of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is one of the greatest blessings and best acts of submission. The visitor must also intend to visit the prophet's mosque as we were told that a prayer there is better than a thousand prayers in other mosques except for Al-Masjid al-Haram. The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said:
"Journeys are only set out for three mosques: Al-Masjid al-Haram, my mosque and Al-Masjid al-Aqsa". And Ibn Omar (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Whoever visits my grave surely will receive my intercession".
Etiquette of the visit:
While heading towards Madinah, the visitor should send blessings and salutations upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) as much as possible and to beseech Allah to make him benefit from his visit and to accept his deed, and he invokes: (O Allah! Open the gates of Your Mercy for me and grant me with the visit of Your prophet (peace be upon him) what you have granted Your allies and obedient worshippers, and pardon me and have mercy upon me. You are the best Grantor).
It is preferable to have a bath (Ghusl) before he enters Madinah, to wear his cleanest clothes and to summon heartly the honour of Madinah. So when he arrives at the door of the Prophet's Mosque (peace be upon him), he should forward his right leg while entering and his left leg when leaving. He enters and goes to Al-Rawda (the garden) (The area between the pulpit and the tomb has a green carpet, whereas the rest of the mosque has a red carpet). He prays two rak'as, then goes to the prophet's tomb and he stands in front of his honoured face (peace be upon him) at about four cubits (a cubit is 18 inches) from the wall of the honoured tomb, in absolute reverence. Then he salutes without raising his voice, but in a tone between a concealed and an audible voice, out of respect to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
The visitor invokes with all his heart lowering his gaze and voice in calmness and stillness:
"Peace be upon you Messenger of Allah, peace be upon you Prophet of Allah, peace be upon you the dearly loved by Allah, peace be upon you the best blessed among Allah's creatures, peace be upon you the favoured by Allah, peace be upon you chief of Messengers and the seal of the prophets, peace be upon you leader of "al-ghorr al-muhajaleen" (those who have white spots on their foreheads and are white-footed from prayers and ablution), peace be upon you and upon your sincere virtuous family, peace be upon you and upon your chaste wives, mothers of the believers, peace be upon you and upon all your companions, peace be upon you and upon all good servants of Allah. May Allah reward you Messenger of Allah on our behalf as best He rewarded a prophet and a Messenger for his nation, and may Allah send his blessings upon you whenever praisers mention you and unmindful people forget mentioning you. I testify there is no deity but Allah and I testify that you are His slave and Messenger, His faithful trustee and the best among his creatures. I testify that you have delivered the Message, and fulfilled the Trust, and advised the nation and struggled for the sake of Allah in the best way." (He who doesn't have enough time for that or is unable to memorise the invocation, he may say some parts of the mentioned form) If anyone entrusted him to salute Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) he should say: " Greetings to you, Messenger of Allah from so and so, son of so and so".
Then he moves about a cubit to the right and greets Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) and says : "Peace be upon you the Prophet's Caliph, peace be upon you companion of Allah's Messenger in the cave, peace be upon you his companion in travels, peace be upon you the keeper of his secrets. May Allah reward you for Islam and Muslims.
O Allah! I ask You to be pleased with him and be pleased with us for him".
Then he moves about a cubit to the right and greets 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) saying: "Peace be upon you the leader of believers, peace be upon you by whom Allah supported this religion. May Allah reward you the best reward for Islam and Muslims. O Allah, I ask You to be pleased with him and be pleased with us for him".
Visiting Al-Baqi', the martyrs of Uhud and Masjid Qiba':
It is desirable to go to Al-Baqi' everyday especially on Friday morning after saluting Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). When he gets there, he says:
"Peace be upon you the home of the righteous believers, and we are - by Allah's will - your followers. O Allah! Forgive the dwellers of Al-Baqi', O Allah! forgive us and them".
The visitor should pay a visit to Masjid Qiba' to pray there as the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to go to Qiba' riding and walking, where he used to pray there two rak'as. Preferably, this visit should be on a Saturday (if possible) as the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to go there every Saturday.
Praying in Madinah:
Leaving Madinah and travelling:
It is desirable for the visitor when he wants to depart and travel to take leave of the Prophet's mosque by performing two rak'as and invoking for what he likes then he comes to the Noble Presence (Al Hadra al-Sharifah), pays salutations as he had done earlier and invokes with insistence earnestly and says farewell to the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying: "O Allah! Do not make this visit the last one to the Haram of Your Messenger (peace be upon him) and make my return to the two holy mosques an easy way by Your favor and grace, grant me pardon, good health and protection in this world and in the Hereafter and return us safely, sound and prosperous to our countries". And he says: "Not saying farewell Messenger of Allah".
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