Lamentation Over Someone's Death

By Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Posted: 3 Jamad-ul-Awwal 1423, 14 July 2002

Q.) Your articles in albalagh.net mention that you believe the Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam prohibited lamentation at someone's death.

The holy Qur'an mentions about the lamentations of Hazrat Ya'qoob, alayhi-salam, over the temporary loss of his son but nowhere in the Qur'an has the Almighty, Who is the supreme Lawmaker and Creator of the human nature that makes human being weep or cry, condemned Ya'qoob's lamentation or advised that it was better if he did not cry etc.

I am not a scholar and not even a very religious person but I have proved you wrong in ONE second by this support I drew from the holy Qur'an.

I can narrate to you several ahadith in which it is mentioned that not only the Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam himself lamented on various occasions but did not stop others from doing so in his presence. Have we not heard the story of who broke his teeth upon learning that the Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam was hurt in a war?

Please reply to my question about lamentation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this communication and for your response. [Glenn]

A.) 1. The Messenger of Allah Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam observed: Two (things) are found among men which are tantamount to unbelief: slandering one's lineage and lamenting the dead. (Muslim Hadith No.:0128)

2. Allah's Messenger Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam stood up to deliver a sermon and mentioned the trial of the grave, to which a person would be put. And when he mentioned that, the Muslims raised their voices in lamentation. (Bukhari's version ends here, but Nasa'i added:) This lamentation prevented me from understanding the words of Allah's Messenger Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. So when the voice of lamentation were calmed, I said to the person who was near me: May Allah bless you! What did Allah's Messenger say at the end of his speech? Whereupon he said (that the Prophet had said): It has been revealed to me that you will be put to trial in the grave, a trial similar to the trial of Dajjal. (Mishkaat Hadith No.:0137)

3. Sa'd ibn Ubadah, Radi-Allahu anhu, became sick and the Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam along with AbdurRahman ibn Awf, Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Radi-Allahu anhum, visited him to enquire about his health. When he came to him, he found him surrounded by his household and he asked, "Has he died?" They said, "No, O Allah's Apostle." The Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam wept and when the people saw the weeping of Allah's Apostle Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam they all wept. He said, "Will you listen? Allah does not punish for shedding tears, nor for the grief of the heart but he punishes or bestows His Mercy because of this." He pointed to his tongue and added, "The deceased is punished for the wailing of his relatives over him." Umar used to beat with a stick and throw stones and put dust over the faces (of those who used to wail over the dead). (Bukhari Hadith No.:2.391)

Islam does not neglect the practical issues of life. Crying is something which is natural in the life of every human being and also accepted in the light of the Shari'ah. On many occasions, Nabi Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam also cried. The crying that is prohibited in Shari'ah is the one that entails the acts and habits of Jahiliyyat. In the era of Jahiliyyat, criers were hired to mourn for the deceased. This type of crying is prohibited in the light of the Shari'ah. Another type of crying which is also prohibited is that which leads a person to make irrational statements like, 'Why my son, wasn't there anyone else who Allah Ta'ala could have taken.' Also, those cries in which a person screams and raises his voice are prohibited in the light of the Shari'ah.

As far as the crying of Ya'qoob, alayhi salam, upon the temporary loss of Yusuf, alayhi salam, is concerned, this was a natural cry which was void of the abovementioned forms of prohibition. And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best