Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. I heard Allah say: {And if, when they had wronged themselves, they had come to you, asked forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Forgiving and Merciful} (21). I have come to you seeking forgiveness for my sin, and seeking you as an intercessor with my Lord. Then he began to say:
O best of those whose remains are buried in the earth, From whose fragrance the earth and the hills become sweet.
My soul is a ransom for a grave you inhabit, Wherein are chastity, generosity, and nobility.
Then the Bedouin turned away. My eyes grew heavy and I slept, and I saw the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in a dream, and he said: 'O 'Utbi, catch up with the Bedouin and give him the glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him' (22). It is recommended for one who enters the mosque to lead with his right foot, then say: 'In the name of Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (23). O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, forgive me, and open for me the doors of Your mercy.' And when he exits, he should say the same, adding: 'And open for me the doors of Your bounty.' This is because it is reported from Fatimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), may Allah be pleased with her, that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) taught her to say that when she entered the mosque (24). Then he comes to the grave (25), turns his back to the Qiblah, faces its center, and says: 'Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.'
= Al-Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Hadi said in 'Al-Sarim al-Munki' (pp. 212-213): 'In sum, this rejected anecdote regarding the Bedouin is not something upon which an argument can be established; its chain of narration is obscure and inconsistent, and its wording is also inconsistent. Even if it were authentic, it would contain no argument for the point the objector seeks to prove. It is not appropriate to use such an anecdote as evidence or to rely upon it according to the people of knowledge. And with Allah is success.' End quote. (21) Surah al-Nisa: 64. (22) This story and the verses were mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir 2/306. (23) Omitted from manuscript: M. (24) We did not find it through the path of Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her. It was recorded via the path of Abu Humayd or Abu Usayd by Muslim, in: Chapter: What one says upon entering the mosque, from the Book of the Traveler's Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/494. And Abu Dawud, in: Chapter: What a man says upon entering the mosque, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/109. And al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter: The invocation upon entering the mosque and exiting it, from the Book of Mosques. Al-Mujtaba 2/41. And al-Darimi, in: Chapter: What one says upon entering the mosque and upon exiting, from the Book of Asking Permission. Sunan al-Darimi 2/293. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 3/497, 5/425. (25) Meaning after performing the prayer of greeting the mosque (tahiyyat al-masjid) by praying two rak'ahs in the mosque—and if he prays them in the Noble Rawdah, it is better—then after the prayer, he visits the grave of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
