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What is the ruling on visiting Madinah and the Rawdah?

Q: What is the ruling on visiting Madinah and the Rawdah?

Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen: “If one brings a little sand and a few stones of Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Tayyibah to one’s homeland with the intention of tabarruk (deriving blessing e.g. using it as an ingredient of a medication) and one does not commit any type of shirk or bid’ah with it, it will be permissible.” Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah: “No, it is impermissible for a woman in the state of menstruation (haidh) to enter a Masjid including the Haram in Makkah and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. It is against the sanctity of a Masjid to enter in such a state. A woman will be sinful by entering a Masjid in the state of menstruation.” Darul Ifta Ibn Masood: “1. There are many virtues recorded in the Mubarak Ahadith for visiting Madinah Munawwarah. The greatest virtue is to make Ziyaarat of Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Some of these virtues are mentioned below:” Based on the fatawa linked below. Please read the sources and double-check with a Darul Ifta for your situation.

81 fatawa in the archive answer questions on this, from 5 South African Darul Iftas (Mufti Online, Ask Imaam, Ibn Masood, Jamiat KZN, Azaadville). Below, each Darul Ifta’s answer is quoted word for word from the opening of one of its fatawa.

Based on the fatawa linked below. Please read the sources and double-check with a Darul Ifta for your situation.

Consult a mufti for your situation. Fatawa SA is a read-only archive and issues no rulings of its own.

What the Darul Iftas say

“If one brings a little sand and a few stones of Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Tayyibah to one’s homeland with the intention of tabarruk (deriving blessing e.g. using it as an ingredient of a medication) and one does not commit any type of shirk or bid’ah with it, it will be permissible.”

Mufti Online — Bringing home sand and stones from Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Tayyibah · 25 Dec 2017

“No, it is impermissible for a woman in the state of menstruation (haidh) to enter a Masjid including the Haram in Makkah and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. It is against the sanctity of a Masjid to enter in such a state. A woman will be sinful by entering a Masjid in the state of menstruation.”

Ask Imaam — Is a woman in menstruation permitted to enter the Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi? · 29 Mar 2015

“1. There are many virtues recorded in the Mubarak Ahadith for visiting Madinah Munawwarah. The greatest virtue is to make Ziyaarat of Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Some of these virtues are mentioned below:”

Ibn Masood — Virtues of Madinah Munawwarah and Masjid-e-Aqsa · 19 Feb 2024

Quotes are the opening words of each answer as published; the full answer, its conditions and references are on the fatwa page. Answers depend on the exact details of each question.

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