And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Chapter on the prayer for the deceased, accompanying the funeral procession, attending the burial, and the dislike of women following funeral processions. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

He who attends the funeral till the prayer is offered for (the dead), for him is the reward of one qirat, and he who attends (and stays) till he is buried, for him is the reward of two qirats.

من شهد الجنازة حتى يصلى عليها فله قيراط، ومن شهدها حتى تدفن فله قيراطان

Sahih Muslim 945a

It was asked: What are the two qirats? He said:

Like two great mountains

مثل الجبلين العظيمين

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And from him (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

(A believer) who accompanies the funeral procession of a Muslim out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's reward and remains with it till the funeral prayer is offered and the burial ceremonies are over, he will return with a reward of two Qirats. Each Qirat is like the size of the (Mount) Uhud. He who offers the funeral prayer only and returns before the burial, will return with the reward of one Qirat only.

من اتبع جنازة مسلم إيمانًا واحتسابًا وكان معه حتى يصلى عليها ويفرغ من دفنها فإنه يرجع من الأجر بقيراطين كل قيراط مثل أحد، ومن صلى عليها ثم رجع قبل أن تدفن فإنه يرجع بقيراط

Sahih al-Bukhari 47

Al-Bukhari narrated it. And Umm Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: We were forbidden from following funeral processions, but it was not made obligatory upon us. Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.”

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the book *Riyad al-Saliheen*: “Chapter on accompanying the funeral procession, praying over it, and burying it”, meaning the recommendation of doing so, “and the dislike of it for women”. *Al-janazah* with an open *alif* (fathah) is the name for the deceased, and *al-janazah* with a closed *alif* (kasrah) is the name for the bier on which the deceased is placed. Then the author mentioned the first and second hadiths of Abu Hurayrah and the hadith of Umm Atiyyah. Know that accompanying funeral processions is among the rights of Muslims upon their brothers, that they should accompany their funerals and go out with the funeral procession. The scholars said: When one goes out with the funeral procession, he should be humble and contemplative regarding his own end, knowing that just as he is now following this man’s funeral, the day will come when people will follow his funeral. Just as this man was carried, he too will be carried.
“Every son of a woman, however long his safety lasts, *** will one day be carried on a rickety vehicle”
So you should reflect on your own affair, and know that however long you remain in this world, you will be carried just as this man was carried, and you will be accompanied just as this man was accompanied. For this reason, they said: It is not befitting for one accompanying a funeral to talk about any of the matters of this world, but rather to reflect on himself. If someone is with him and speaks to him, let him remind him of the end of every living being, so that accompanying the funeral becomes a true accompaniment and a lesson, meaning the fulfillment of a Muslim’s right and a lesson for the one accompanying. Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, in which it is stated that whoever follows the funeral from its home until the prayer is performed over it and then it is buried, receives two qirats. He was asked about the two qirats, and he said: In a narration by Muslim: When Ibn Umar was told this hadith, he said: “We have indeed missed out on many qirats”, meaning that we did not go out with funeral processions and we missed out on these many qirats. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) began to go out with funeral processions. If you attend until the prayer is performed over it, you receive one qirat, and if you continue with it until it is buried, you receive two qirats. But in the narration of al-Bukhari, it is conditioned that this be done with faith and seeking reward, meaning faith in Allah and belief in His promise, and seeking His reward. Your intention should not be merely to be polite to the family of the deceased, for being polite to the family of the deceased is only an immediate reward in this world. A person may be rewarded for being polite to his brothers, but the reward of two qirats is for the one who follows it with faith and seeking reward, faith in Allah and trust in His promise, and seeking His reward. As for women, Umm Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “We were forbidden from following funeral processions, but it was not made obligatory upon us”. When a female Companion says “we were forbidden” or a male Companion says “we were forbidden,” the meaning is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade them, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is the one who has the authority to command and forbid. So when a Companion says “we were forbidden” or a female Companion says “we were forbidden,” the meaning is that the Messenger of Allah forbade us. “We were forbidden from following funeral processions, but it was not made obligatory upon us”. Some scholars derived from this hadith that women following funeral processions is disliked, because she said “we were forbidden” and “it was not made obligatory upon us.” Other scholars said that women following funeral processions is forbidden due to the established prohibition. Umm Atiyyah’s statement “and it was not made obligatory upon us” is an expression of her understanding (may Allah be pleased with her). We do not know whether the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was the one who forbade them without making it obligatory, or whether she understood that it was not obligatory for women to leave following funeral processions. The correct view is that a woman following a funeral is forbidden and it is not permissible for a woman to follow a funeral, because if she follows it, the woman is undoubtedly weak and may scream, wail, strike her cheeks, pull her hair, and tear her clothes; a woman does not have patience. Also, there may be mixing between men and women in accompanying the funeral, which leads to fitnah and removes the wisdom of following funeral processions, such that men or the worst of men have no concern except to pursue these women or enjoy looking at them. It is obligatory to prevent women from following funeral processions, and this does not exist, praise be to Allah, in our lands, but the discussion is about the legal ruling. The correct view is that a woman following funeral processions is forbidden and not permissible. Similarly, a woman visiting graves is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) cursed women who visit graves and those who make mosques and lamps at them. And success is from Allah. Yes?

The questioner : Does a woman visit the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?