Is there sound evidence for the prohibition of gold for women, or is it a weak ijtihad, and if it is forbidden, how should existing gold be disposed of, and does asking about this ruling fall under the hadith, "The greatest of people in wrongdoing is he who asks about something and it becomes forbidden because of his questioning"?

The Prophet's prohibition (peace and blessings be upon him) of wearing gold unless it is cut (into small pieces) is a shadhdh (anomalous) hadith (definition) that contradicts authentic hadiths which permit women to wear gold, and it contradicts the consensus of the scholars. As for the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, "The greatest Muslim among Muslims in terms of offense is he who inquires about something that was not forbidden to Muslims, but it becomes forbidden to them because of his inquiry," it is specific to the time of legislation. A Muslim must know Allah's ruling on their actions through ijtihad (definition) (independent reasoning) or by asking scholars. If one does not find anything indicating a specific ruling, the default is permissibility. However, this does not mean abandoning the search for Allah's ruling; rather, one must ask scholars when in doubt and advise people when they violate religious rulings.