Q710 :May I refer to an earlier answer by you when
you suggested that women are allowed to visit graves. If the Hadith you
have quoted is authentic, then it shall supersede earlier sayings by
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), concerning the same subject.
Could you please include the full text of the Hadith reported by Lady
Aisha and netment further on the subject.
A710 : The relevant part of the Hadith which I have
quoted mentions that Lady Aisha was questioned on her return from
visiting the grave of her brother about the Prophet’s prohibition on
visiting graves. She answered: “Yes, he did prohibit that, but he later
encouraged visiting them.” Before mentioning the full text of the
Hadith, let me mention two authentic Hadiths on this subject. The first
is reported by Buraidah, a netpanion of the Prophet, who quotes him as
saying: “I had ordered you not to visit graves, now I say: Visit them;
and I did prohibit you to keep sacrificial meat for more than three
days, now I say: Keep what you wish; etc.” (Related by Muslim). This
Hadith is clear that an early prohibition has been abrogated. Scholars
suggest that in the early years of Islam, the Prophet was keen to
restrict every action which had even the slightest connotation of
associating partners with Allah. Because people used to do various
rituals at graveyards, the Prophet wanted them to get used to accepting
death as a natural thing, determined by Allah, and which does not
justify any wailing or the performance of any rituals. In the case of
sacrificial meat, the early prohibition encouraged the distribution of
meat at a time when the circumstances of the Muslims were hard and
things scarce. When the Muslim state became richer, the Prophet allowed
people to keep what they wished of the meat of animals they had
sacrificed. The second Hadith is that which encourages visiting
graveyards. Abu-Hurairah reports that the Prophet “visited his mother’s
grave and wept until everyone around him was in tears. He then said: I
sought my Lord’s permission to pray Him to forgive her, but this
permission was not given me. I also sought His permission to visit her
grave, and He has permitted me. Visit graves, because such visits
remind you of death.” (Related by Muslim). Some of the scholars do
maintain that women are not allowed to visit graves. In support of
their view, they cite the Hadith which prevents women from following
funerals and the one which quotes the Prophet as saying: “Allah curses
the women who visit graves frequently and the ones who pray at them and
put lanterns at them” (related by Abu-Dawood and An-Nassaie).
Al-Qurtubi, a renowned scholar, explains that this curse is limited to
those who carry the habit of visiting graves to excess. This is clearly
indicated by the way the Arabic text of this Hadith is phrased. He
suggests that the reasons for such a curse may be that such frequent
visits may lead a woman to abandon her duties, or cause her to dress
improperly or she may often wail at the grave, etc. If she visits
graves and does not do any of these things, then that is appropriate
because both men and women need to remember death. A larger number of
scholars, however, are of the view that visiting graves is permitted
for women. In support of their view, they cite the Hadith of Lady
Aisha, which is related by Al-Hakim on the authority of Abdullah ibn
Maulaikah, who saw her neting back from visit to the grave of her
brother, Abdurrahman. He asked her : “Had not the Prophet prohibited
this?” She said: “Yes, he had prohibited it, but he later encouraged
visiting them (graves).” There is nothing in this Hadith to suggest
that this permission applies to men only. Indeed, we have an authentic
Hadith which may be quoted in support of this view. Anas ibn Malik, a
netpanion of the Prophet, reports: “The Prophet (peace be upon him)
passed by a woman crying at a grave. He said to her: Fear Allah and be
patient. She said: Leave me alone, for you have not had a calamity like
mine and you have not known him. She was subsequently told that she was
talking to the Prophet. She went to him at his place where she found no
door-keepers. She said: I did not know you. He said: Real patience is
that shown at the first shock” (related by Al-Bukhari). The evidence in
this Hadith is that the Prophet saw a woman visiting a grave and he did
not prohibit her from doing so. Nor did he suggest to his netpanions
who were with him that her action was wrong. Indeed, he approved of it.
Such approval is sufficient to consider the action of the women, i.e.
visiting the grave of a close relative, permissible.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )