Forbidding Wailing over the Dead

795. Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Someone who strikes his cheeks, tears his garments and calls out the cries of the Jahiliyya is not one of us.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Janaiz, 36; Sahih Muslim, Iman, 165).

796. An-Nu’man ibn Bashir, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Abdullah ibn Rawaha fainted and his sister began to weep and say, ‘What a paragon he was!’ and this and that, repeating them. When he recovered consciousness, he said, ‘You did not say anything without it being said to me, “Are you really like that?” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Maghazi, 44).

797. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Sa’d ibn Ubada fell ill and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came to visit him with Abdu’r-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas and Abdullah ibn Mas’ud. When he arrived, he found him in a stupor and said, ‘Has he died?’ They said, ‘No, O Messenger of Allah.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, wept. When the people saw the Prophet weeping, they wept. He said, ‘Listen, Allah does not punish on account of the tears of the eyes nor for the grief of the heart, but he punishes or shows mercy on account of this,’ and he pointed to his tongue.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Janaiz, 45; Sahih Muslim, Janaiz, 12).

798. Usayd ibn Abi Usayd at-Tabi’i, may Allah be pleased with him, from one of the women who gave homage, who said, “Among the things the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, made us agree to regarding correct behavior in respect of which we promised not to disobey him were not scratching our faces nor wailing nor tearing our shirts nor pulling out our hair.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Janaiz, 25).

 

Nawawi, Imam. Riyad As-Salihin; The Gardens of the Righteous: A collection of authentic hadiths. Tughra Books Press, Inc. 2014