Fariq Naik – Visiting the Graves for Women

Fariq Naik
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The burial season is generally agreed upon by the two opinions, with women being allowed to visit the graveyards, but only for men who have seen their Prophet's marks. The hadith of their Beloved Prophet Muhammad may indicate that peace is on them, but the Shafi School of Thought believes that women should avoid visiting graveyards and offer "offers for people who have passed away." The speakers discuss various examples of what they believe is evidence of the Prophet's peace upon women, and suggest that women should avoid visiting graveyards and offer "offers for people who have passed away."

AI: Summary ©

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			We'll take the next question.
		
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			Assalamu alaikum.
		
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			Can women visit graveyards according to Islam?
		
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			My name is Syed Simra.
		
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			I am a student from Srinagar, Kashmir.
		
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			First we'll discuss regarding the basic ruling of
		
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			graveyards.
		
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			As far as visiting graveyards is concerned, there's
		
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			a hadith of Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may peace
		
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			and blessings be upon him, which says Nahaitukum
		
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			an ziyaratil quboor, fazooruha.
		
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			That I prohibited you from visiting the graves,
		
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			but now visit the graves.
		
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			Previously, the ruling as far as visiting the
		
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			graveyard for the Muslim was concerned, it was
		
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			prohibited.
		
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			Because during the early stages of Islam, it
		
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			was prevalent that people used to go to
		
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			the graves, revere the graves, ask from the
		
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			dead, and do things that would lead to
		
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			shirk.
		
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			So it was prohibited.
		
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			And later on, when Muslims, they learned more
		
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			about Islam, and they knew the rulings regarding
		
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			Islam, it was permitted.
		
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			But not only it being permitted, our Beloved
		
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			Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon
		
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			him, encouraged an individual to go to the
		
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			graves, as it reminds us regarding death.
		
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			As far as visiting the graves for men
		
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			is concerned, it is a sunnah.
		
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			And this is the opinion of all the
		
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			four madahib.
		
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			The Hanafi school of thought, the Maliki school
		
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			of thought, the Shafi'i school of thought,
		
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			and the Hamli school of thought.
		
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			And in fact, certain scholars have said that
		
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			it is ijma, as reported by Ibn Abdul
		
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			Barr.
		
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			He says that it is an ijma, that
		
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			it is a sunnah for the men to
		
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			visit the graves.
		
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			And the evidence that they give is the
		
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			hadith that I quoted.
		
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			Now as far as visiting the grave or
		
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			the graveyards for the women is concerned, the
		
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			scholars have deferred upon this into three opinions.
		
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			The first opinion is that it is permitted
		
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			for women to visit the graveyards, and this
		
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			is the opinion of the Hanafi school of
		
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			thought, as well as one of the opinions
		
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			of the Shafi'i school of thought, and
		
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			one of the opinions of the Maliki school
		
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			of thought, and a riwayah in Imam Ahmad,
		
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			one of the opinions of Imam Ahmad as
		
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			well.
		
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			So mainly this is the opinion of the
		
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			Hanafi school of thought.
		
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			They say that it is permitted for women
		
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			to go to the graves, and the evidence
		
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			that they give is the hadith of the
		
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			Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be
		
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			upon him.
		
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			That I prohibited you from visiting the graves,
		
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			but now visit the graves.
		
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			Previously it was prohibited for people to visit
		
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			the graves for the Muslims, and then later
		
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			on it became permitted, and our Beloved Prophet
		
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			Muhammad, peace be upon him, encouraged.
		
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			So the hadith which says, so visit the
		
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			graves, it is general, which includes men and
		
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			women.
		
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			And the purpose for visiting the graves, as
		
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			it is mentioned in other hadiths, that it
		
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			reminds a person regarding death.
		
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			And this includes both men and women.
		
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			The hadith does not specifically say regarding visiting
		
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			the graves that it is only for men.
		
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			So the Hanafi school of thought and the
		
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			first group of scholars, they say that it
		
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			is permitted for women to visit the graves.
		
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			The other evidence that they give is the
		
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			hadith of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may peace
		
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			and blessings be upon him.
		
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			Other hadiths, and one of the hadiths that
		
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			they mention is, when our Beloved Prophet Muhammad,
		
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			peace be upon him, he was passing by
		
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			a graveyard.
		
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			And there was a woman who was weeping
		
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			and was crying.
		
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			So our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
		
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			him, told her, Fear Allah and be patient.
		
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			Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,
		
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			did not prohibit this woman from visiting the
		
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			graveyard.
		
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			If it was haram, the Prophet, peace be
		
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			upon him, would have prohibited her from visiting
		
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			the graveyard.
		
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			Another evidence that they give is regarding Aisha,
		
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			may Allah be pleased with her, wherein she
		
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			visited the graveyard.
		
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			And she visited the grave of her brother,
		
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			Abdur Rahman bin Abi Bakr.
		
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			And when she was told that the Prophet,
		
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			peace be upon him, prohibited from visiting the
		
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			graveyard, so she said that he prohibited and
		
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			then he permitted it.
		
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			The second group of scholars, they say that
		
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			it is makrooh, it is discouraged or disliked
		
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			for women to visit the graveyard.
		
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			And this is the opinion of the Humbly
		
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			School of Thought as well as the opinion
		
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			of the Shafi'i School of Thought.
		
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			That they say that it is makrooh for
		
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			women to visit the graveyard.
		
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			And the evidence that they give is the
		
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			hadith of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may peace
		
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			and blessings be upon him, that the Prophet,
		
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			peace be upon him, cursed the woman who
		
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			visited the graves.
		
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			And they say that this does not refer
		
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			to it being prohibited but rather it refers
		
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			to it being makrooh.
		
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			And the evidence that they give is the
		
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			hadith of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may peace
		
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			and blessings be upon him, that the Prophet,
		
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			peace be upon him, passed by a graveyard
		
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			and there was a woman who was weeping
		
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			in the graveyard.
		
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			And the Prophet, peace be upon him, told
		
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			her, fear Allah and be patient.
		
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			So they use this as evidence.
		
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			And the third opinion is the opinion, one
		
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			of the opinions of the Hanafi School of
		
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			Thought as well as one of the opinions
		
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			of the Shafi'i School of Thought.
		
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			And it is the opinion of Sheikhul Islam
		
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			Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Baz and Ibn Uthaymeen,
		
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			may Allah have mercy on all of them,
		
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			that it is prohibited for the woman to
		
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			visit graveyards.
		
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			And they base it on the hadith of
		
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			our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,
		
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			the hadith that I mentioned, لَعَنَ اللَّهَ زُوَّارَةُ
		
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			الْقُبُورِ that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
		
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			prohibited the woman, the Prophet, peace be upon
		
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			him, cursed the woman who visited the graveyards.
		
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			And in this hadith it says that the
		
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			woman, the Prophet, peace be upon him, that
		
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			لَعَنَ اللَّهَ زُوَّارَةُ الْقُبُورِ that Allah subhanahu wa
		
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			ta'ala curses the woman who visits the
		
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			graveyards.
		
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			So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has cursed
		
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			the woman who visits the graveyards.
		
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			This clearly proves that it is haram, it
		
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			is prohibited for a woman to visit the
		
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			graveyard.
		
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			And the reasons that they give regarding the
		
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			prohibition is that they say that the woman
		
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			she is emotionally weak and when she goes
		
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			to the graveyard, when she sees that her
		
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			relative is being buried, she may cry and
		
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			she may not be able to bear it.
		
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			So that's the reason the third group of
		
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			scholars, they give these reasonings and they say
		
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			that it is prohibited for a woman to
		
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			visit the graveyard.
		
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			So I would request the sisters that to
		
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			avoid visiting graveyards.
		
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			As I have mentioned the opinion, several scholars
		
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			say that it is makroor, certain scholars even
		
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			go to the extent of saying that it
		
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			is haram, it is prohibited.
		
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			So the sisters should avoid going to the
		
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			graveyards but naturally they can offer Salatul Janaza
		
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			and they can do dua for the person
		
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			who has passed away, when he is at
		
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			home they can do dua for him, there
		
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			is no problem in this.
		
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			But visiting the graveyard, the sister should see
		
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			to it that they avoid visiting the graveyard.
		
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			So I hope that answers your question.