“Travel should not be undertaken with the intention of visiting any mosque except three: the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām), the Mosque of the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), and al-Aqṣā Mosque.”

Narrated by al-Bukhārī (no. 1189), with the wording attributed to him, and by Muslim (no. 1397), from the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).

Brief Explanation of the Hadith

Islam came to establish true monotheism and to block the means leading to polytheism and excessiveness. Among that is the prohibition by the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) of undertaking travel to mosques or other places for the purpose of worship, except to the three mosques explicitly mentioned, due to the virtue and honor they possess. The Mosque of the Kaʿbah is that to which people perform Hajj, and it is the Qiblah for both the living and the dead. The Prophet’s Mosque was established upon piety and built by the best of creation. Al-Aqṣā Mosque was the Qiblah of previous nations. Their virtue is ranked in this order, as stated in the ḥadīth. And because no other mosque shares with them in the abundance of reward and the multiplication of merit, and because the Mosque of the Kaʿbah and the Prophet’s Mosque are distinguished by their legal sanctity—they are ḥarams—with all that this entails of specific rulings and unique virtues.
It is derived from the ḥadīth that it is not permissible to undertake travel with the intention of visiting graves, including the grave of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), as some people do when they travel to Makkah and then proceed to Madinah with the purpose of visiting his grave. All the more so regarding other graves, even if their occupants are people of knowledge, virtue, or righteousness. The wisdom behind the prohibition is to block the means leading to polytheism and to prevent anything that may result in it, for making a visit to a grave as an act of worship can pave the way toward excessiveness and associating partners with Allah.
The ḥadīth indicates the virtue of the three mosques over all others, and that they are ranked in merit: the most virtuous is the Sacred Mosque, then the Prophet’s Mosque, followed by al-Aqṣā Mosque.

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