A visit to the Masjid al-Nabawi, and the holy spots within it, is technically called “Ziyarat” or Visitation.[FN#3] An essential difference is made between this rite and Hajj or pilgrimage.  The latter is obligatory by Koranic order upon every Moslem once in his life:  the former is only a meritorious action.  “Tawaf,” or circumambulation of the House of Allah at Meccah, must never be performed at the Apostle’s tomb.  This should not be visited in the Ihram or pilgrim dress; men should not kiss it, touch it with the hand, or press the bosom against it, as at the Ka’abah; or rub the face with dust collected near the sepulchre; and those who prostrate themselves before it, like certain ignorant Indians, are held to be

[p.306] guilty of deadly sin.  On the other hand, to spit upon any part of the Mosque, or to treat it with contempt, is held to be the act of an Infidel.

Thus the learned and religious have settled, one would have thought, accurately enough the spiritual rank and dignity of the Masjid al-Nabawi.  But mankind, especially in the East, must always be in extremes.  The orthodox school of Al-Malik holds Al-Madinah, on account of the sanctity of, and the religious benefits to be derived from, Mohammed’s tomb, more honourable than Meccah.  Some declare that the Apostle preferred his place of refuge, blessing it as Abraham did Meccah.  Moreover, as a tradition declares that every man’s body is drawn from the ground in which he is buried, Al-Madinah evidently had the honour of supplying materials for the Apostle’s person.  Others, like Omar, were uncertain which to prefer.  The Wahhabis, on the other hand, rejecting the Intercession of the Apostle on the Day of Judgment, considering the grave of a mere mortal unworthy of notice, and highly disgusted by the idolatrous respect paid to it by certain foolish Moslems, plundered the sacred building with sacrilegious violence, and forbade visitors from distant countries to enter Al-Madinah.[FN#4]

The general consensus of Al-Islam admits the superiority of the Bayt Allah ("House of God”) at Meccah to the whole world; and declares Al-Madinah to be more venerable than every part of Meccah, and consequently all the earth, except only the Bayt Allah.  This last is a juste milieu view by no means in favour with the inhabitants of either place.  In the meanwhile the Meccans claim unlimited superiority over the Madani:  the Madani over the Meccans.

[p.307]Passing through muddy streets,-they had been freshly watered before evening time,-I came suddenly upon the Mosque.  Like that at Meccah, the approach is choked up by ignoble buildings, some actually touching the holy “enceinte,” others separated by a lane compared with which the road round St. Paul’s is a Vatican Square.[FN#5] There is no outer front, no general prospect of the Prophet’s Mosque; consequently, as a building, it has neither beauty nor dignity.