Visiting Medina after pilgrimage

The visit to Medina is neither a pillar nor a rite of hajj: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) limited the mosques for which one undertakes a journey to three: "journeys are only made to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, this mosque of mine, and the al-Aqsa Mosque" (al-Bukhari 1189 ; Muslim 1397). It remains recommended for the virtue of the Prophet's Mosque:

One prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except the Sacred Mosque.al-Bukhari 1190

The status of the visit to Medina

Praying in the mosque is the main purpose of the visit, and the hajj is complete without Medina. Ibn Baz sets this framework: the visit is recommended for prayer in the mosque and the sober greeting of the Prophet; it is neither a pillar nor an obligation of the pilgrimage, and no circumambulation around the grave nor supplication addressed to the Prophet is lawful (Majmu' al-Fatawa wa-l-Maqalat al-Mutanawwi'a). The Lajna ad-Da'ima (Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fatawa, Saudi Arabia) rules in the same direction: tawaf around graves and supplicating through the dead are innovations, and invoking other than Allah is shirk (Fatawa al-Lajna ad-Da'ima).

The etiquettes of the visit to Medina

• Pray in the mosque and seek the space called ar-Rawda: "between my house and my minbar is a garden of the gardens of Paradise" (al-Bukhari 1195 ; Muslim 1391).
• Greet the Prophet standing, in a low voice, with the reported salam, then greet Abu Bakr and Umar.
• The cemeteries: the salam to the inhabitants of the graves is a taught sunna: "peace be upon you, inhabitants of the abodes of believers and Muslims" (Muslim 975). At Baqi' and Uhud, invoke Allah for them, without asking through them; Uhud is the mountain of which the Prophet said that it loves us and we love it (al-Bukhari 4099).
• The protection of Medina: the Prophet said that whoever devises evil against its inhabitants, Allah will dissolve him as salt dissolves in water (al-Bukhari 1880).

The cautions when visiting Medina

The cited positions of Ibn Baz and the Lajna ad-Da'ima set the line: the visit is a moment of prayer, salam and supplication to Allah for the departed. Supplication addressed to the Prophet or to the dead, circumambulations around graves and votive offerings are reproved excesses. The hajj is complete without Medina: it is a recommended visit, not a rite.

Practical note on visiting Medina

Visit Medina after hajj or 'umra (the city is open all year), pray early in the Rawda when the flow allows, greet soberly, pass by Baqi' and Uhud, then return to the pilgrimage service.