Visiting the graveyard for Ijtimaai dua, Night Vigil in Mosque and bid’ah

Question

Assalamualaikum,

1. Our local mosque arranges 3 buses to go together to graveyard for ijtimaai dua.
2. Every year night vigil is practiced with tea and suhoor together in mosque.
3. Are the above methods bid’ah or not?

wassalam.

Answer

1. This could be to make transportation to the graveyard easy for those who want to go but don’t have the means and the graveyard could be quite far.  The graveyard should be visited as frequently as possible.  Nobody goes there these days, so if once in a while people go, pray Qur’an and durood shareef and remember their own death and their grave, then what harm is there?  Ijtimai dua is also nothing haram, therefore we shouldn’t be too strict in there.  It would be better if ijtimai dua is done sometimes and left out at other times so that people don’t think it’s part of Deen and a requirement for visiting the graveyard.
2. The mosque is for worship, not for parties.  People should be encouraged to pray nawaafil, read Qur’an and tasbeehaat in the mosque.  Tea parties, games and such functions should be kept away from the mosques.  At the same time, if people have worshipped a lot and they need to freshen up for further ibadat, then this could be allowed.
3. Bid’ah is something added into the deen thinking that it is part of the deen, e.g. adding one rak’at in Maghrib and making them 4 instead of 3, or praying Jumu’ah on a Sunday for convenience.  Similarly, making a non-wajib act wajib is also bid’ah, e.g. dua after fardh salah is not wajib, but if some people make it wajib, then this is adding into the deen and therefore a bid’ah.  So if this is not the case at your mosque, then it cannot be classed as bid’ah.  However, if people start thinking that this is part of our deen or that it is wajib to go to the graveyard on Shabe Baraat, then this will be classed as bid’ah.  The Imam should explain in the bayaan that going to the qabrastaan is a sunnah of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and that we should try and go at least once every week, preferably on a Friday, if not possible then once month, otherwise at least once a year. Wallahu a’lam.