Visiting the graves in Islam

Jamal asked '' what are unnecessary fusses that the Shias have created for themselves?''
Javad asked '' which fusses do you mean?''
Jamal said '' you visit the grave of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) and the Imams (peace be upon them)''.
Javad asked '' what is wrong with visiting the grave of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) and the Imams (peace be upon them)?''
Jamal said '' this is haram and it is considered as polytheism toward God''.
Javad said '' I am surprised of why you are saying like ignorant persons. I don't think an educated person like you has such biased reactions without any reasons. I glorify you because you have been trying to search about things and to discover realities from the past until now''.
Jamal said'' in your opinion, do my remarks come from religious biases?''
Javad said '' Definitely, it is something else''.
Jamal asked '' how did you conclude it?''
Javad said '' to prove my claim, we will discuss about visiting the grave of the prophet and the Imams so that it turns out who is right and who is with biased deviations?''
Jamal asked '' why do you consider it polytheism?''
Jamal said '' it is what the polytheists do against their idols''.
Jamal said '' yes, it is right. They circle the graves like the polytheists that circle idols''.
Javad asked '' do circles around the graves make visiting the graves polytheistic?''
Jamal said '' yes, it is right''.
Javad said '' hence, all of the Muslims are polytheists and you are polytheist as well''.
Jmal asked '' why are they polytheists?''
Javad asked '' have you gone to Hajj?''
Jamad said '' due to God's mercy, I have gone to Hajj''.
Javad asked '' did you pray in Al-Haram Mosque?''
Jamal said '' yes, I did it from the mercy of God''.
Javad said '' definitely, you saw that when they were praying, the Muslims were standing toward Kabe (the house of God). Some of them were toward the west, others toward the south and still others toward the north. Therefore, in this way they were praying''.
Jamal said '' Yes, I have seen such a thing about praying there. I myself did it when I was praying. I was toward Kabe wherever the house of God I was because praying should be done toward Kabe; otherwise, it is not accepted''.
Javad said '' hence, all of the Muslims are polytheists and you are polytheist as well''.
Jamal asked '' why do you think so?''
Javad said '' it is so because standing toward Kabe in the time of praying is like the worshipers of idols that stand against their idols. Only difference is that they worship idols that are made by themselves and you worship the house that is made of stone''.
Jamal said '' there is a big difference between my standing toward Kabe and the standing of the worshipers of idol toward their idols''.
Javad asked '' what's difference between them?''
Jamal said '' other Muslims and I stand toward Kabe when we pray. It does not mean that I worship it instead of God. We do it in order to obey the orders of God, but the worshipers of idol worship it because they have chosen idols instead of God and when they worship, they stand toward them. Therefore, when they worship, they stand toward idols and worship them from the bottom of their hearts. But when we pray, we stand against God from the bottom of our hearts. Hence, their action is polytheism. Are we that stand toward Kabe in order to obey the order of God polytheist? There is a lot of difference between our worship and their worship''.
Javad said '' hence, it is concluded that similarity in behavior is not the factor of polytheism. If so, your action would have been polytheism because it was like the action of the worshipers of idol apparently. What considers the action of the worshipers of idol polytheism is their intention and motivation in worshiping idols not their action. On the other hand, what does not consider standing toward Kabe as a polytheistic action is the intention of not worshiping Kabe''.
Jamal said '' yes, that's right''.
Javad said '' when the Shias and other Muslims visit the holy grave of the prophet(peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants), the Imams and other righteous persons, they do not want to worship them. If we compare the actions of the polytheists and the actions of the Muslims, only behavioral similarity can be observed. Behavioral similarity that is intention of worshiping God does not consider visiting graves haram and polytheistic. It has been said in Hadiths '' according to intentions, the deeds of persons are punished or rewarded''. Hence, if action is done to worship God, it will be accepted; otherwise, it will be considered as polytheism. For example, if you pray in a place that there is an idol in order to worship it, you will be considered as a polytheist and if you pray in order to worship God, your pray will definitely be accepted and you will not be considered as a polytheist''.
After Jamal thought deeply for a long time, he said '' whatever you have said is right. I want God to consider you as our resort because you have clarified important matters that I have not been aware of them due to religious biases. Now I have a question''.
Javad said '' ask it''.
Jamal said '' so far I have known that visiting the graves is not haram, but it is accepted. What are the secret and reasons that the Shias take care of this action a lot?''
Javad said '' we do it because it is highly recommended to do in the Islam''.
Jamal asked '' is this action mostahab?''
Javad said '' yes, it is highly emphasized and recommended to do''.
Jamal asked '' are there any Hadiths that emphasize that visiting the grave of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) and the graves of the righteous persons?''
Javad said '' Apart from narrations available, the action of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) and the way of the Muslims have emphasized that visiting the graves is mostahab from the appearance of the Islam and until now''.
Jamal said '' please retell some cases''.

1. It has been narrated in a narration
'' The prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) visited the graves of the martyrs of Ohod War''.
2. It has also been narrated that the prophet visited the graves of the Baghie Cemetery.
3. Abu Harire has narrated in the books '' Sonan Al-Nasaei'', '' Sonan Ibn Maje'' and '' Ahya Al-Olum'' that prophet(peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) has stated
'' Visit the graves (in the cemetery) because it reminds you of the doomsday''.
4. It has also been narrated from Abu Harire
'' The prophet visited the grave of his mother, Amene (the daughter of Vahab). He sat beside the grave of his mother and cried and made persons around him cry. The he stated '' visit the graves because it reminds you of the doomsday''.
5. There are a lot of narrations in Hadiths about how to visit the graves. For example,
'' Each pilgrim should go to Baghie and say '' peace be upon the believers and the Muslims of this realm''.
Whatever has been narrated so far is that visiting the graves of the righteous persons and the Muslims is mostahab and persons are encouraged to do it. There are also a lot of narrations about visiting the grave of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants); some of them will be mentioned
1. Dar Ghatani, Ghazali and Beihaghi have narrated that the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) stated
'' My intermediate will be necessary for whoever visits me''.
2. It has been also narrated that the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) stated
'' I will intermediate whoever visits me in Medina for the sake of God''.
3. Nafe narrates from Ibn Umar that the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) stated
'' Whoever goes to Hajj and does not visit me has tyrannized me''.
5. Ibn Abbas has narrated that the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) has stated
'' Whoever fulfills the rituals of Hajj and visits me in the mosque will have the reward of two accepted Hajjs ''.
There are a lot of narrations that emphasize on visiting the grave of the messenger of God (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) and the grave of the righteous Muslims.
The prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) stated
''Whoever goes to Hajj and does not visit me has tyrannized me''.
Isn't it a reason that visiting the grave of the prophet is mostahab? Isn't the sentence '' my intermediate will be necessary for him'' a reason for emphasizing on visiting the grave of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants)?
When the prophet stated '' visit the cemetery that reminds you of the doomsday'', didn't he want to order to visit the graves? Of course, if this order does not emphasize that visiting the graves is necessary, definitely it emphasizes that visiting the graves is mostahab.
Jamal asked '' where have such narrations been narrated? ''
Javad answered '' Hadith books are full of these narrations. If you study them, you will discover reality''.
Jamal said '' I have never heard and read such narrations''.
Javad asked ''Have you ever read the book '' Sahih Bokhari''?
Jamal said '' I do not have such a book''.
Javad asked '' have you read the book '' Sahih Mosalam''?
Jamal said '' my great father had such a book, but my uncle took it after his death''.
Javad asked '' have you read the book '' Sonan Nesaei''?
Jamal asked '' what kind of book is it? What does it discuss about?''
Javad said '' it is a Hadith book''.
Jamal said '' I have never seen it''.
Javad asked '' what Hadiths have you read?''
Jamal said '' unfortunately I am studying medicine at university and all of my try is to pass my courses. Although I like to learn Hadiths, I have never found time to study them''.
Javad said '' since you have not studied any Hadiths and have no knowledge about the science of Hadith, how can you consider visiting the grave of the prophet (peace of Allah be upon him and his descendants) and the grave of the Imams forbidden?''
Do you know that considering visiting the graves as polytheism does not have any norms?
Jamal said '' whatever my father, grandfather and friends have heard about visiting the graves is about convicting the pilgrims and I have never heard whatever you have expressed''.
Javad said '' a person should study and search in order to discover reality and to know it so that he or she can achieve to thoughts and behaviors that God wants and he or she should not trust in the remarks of others that may be wrong''.
Jamal said '' I accept visiting the grave of the prophet, the grave of the Imams and the Muslims is not only mostahab, but it is also pleasant that you have been encouraged to do''.
Jamal said ''I have a request from you''.
Jamal said '' I am ready to hear it. Please tell it''.
Javad said '' I beg you not to follow any fusses and not to surrender against the beliefs of the people around you; otherwise, you discover reality or idea through searching in order to achieve to happiness''.
Jamal said '' I accepted for years that visiting the graves was considered as polytheism. But now I have got from the Islamic narrations that it is mostahab. I have concluded that I should study about similar topics and I will use your guidelines in the future. I will discuss with my father about what we discussed and my new belief that I have just got so that he cannot go wrong and can move toward the right path''.
Javad said '' I thank you''.
Jamal said '' I thank you for your intellectual ideas that have guided me''.