Women visiting graves: the differing views of the ulama

Question

What is the ruling on women going to visit (ziyara) the pious elders of the religion? And is going for the graves of the pious elders and to their graves included in this, or is it excluded from it? The respected Mawlana Kifayatullah Dehlawi ﵀ declares it permissible, while the respected Mawlana Muhammad Tayyib Deobandi declares it impermissible; in the books Bihishti Zewar (“Heavenly Ornaments”) and Majalis al-Abrar such women are cursed; in the book Rukn-e Din (“The Pillar of Religion”)

Answer

The basis of it is that women have little forbearance: on seeing graves they often, in a state of impatience, begin weeping, crying out, tearing their clothes, slapping their faces and so on; moreover, women going out of the house is in itself a fitna, and there are many harms (mafasid) in it, therefore it is prohibited.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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