Women visiting graves

26-9-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is the ruling about women visiting the cemeteries?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

There is disagreement among Muslim scholars about women visiting graves. Some scholars forbid such a visit; while others legalize it in general. But a third party permits it with some conditions. We think that the correct opinion is the third one.
In this vein, Buraidah (Radiya Allahu Anhu) reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "I forbade you to visit graves, but you may now visit them, for that is a reminder of the Hereafter" . [ al-Tirmizi ]. The woman also needs to be reminded of the death just as the man. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Women are the second half of men" .
As for the Hadith: "May Allah Curse those women who frequently visit the graves, and those who kindle lamps on them" , it states that the Curse of Allah will be upon those women who frequently visit graves, or those who show lack of patience or utter bad expressions (crying - mourning -).
AbuSa'id al-Khudri reported that Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "I forbade you to visit graves but now you can visit them, since such a visit teaches lessons, and you do not say anything that is prohibited in Islam" .
In brief, the woman is allowed to visit graves on condition that no action against Islam is done such as lamentation, impatience, mourning, etc… Also, she should be accompanied by a Mahram (husband, son, brother, …), wearing her Hijab, and unperfumed. A visit that meets the above conditions is permitted occasionally and not on specific days.
Allah knows best.