CORPES EPISODE · 28 – MOURNING THE DEAD
Usāmah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) received a message from his daughter, saying, “My son or daughter is near death; please come to us.” I (Sa’d) and, I think, Ubay were present with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent someone to his daughter and conveyed greetings. He instructed the one he sent to say, when he reaches her, “Everything she takes and gives is from Allah. Everything is destined for a decreed time with Allah.” When the envoy arrived, the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) daughter sent back the envoy, swearing that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) should come to her. So he came to her. The infant was placed on the lap of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The child was struggling for breath. Tears flowed from the eyes of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Sa’d, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “What is this?” (Why are your eyes weeping?)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, "It is mercy. Allah has placed it in the hearts of those He wills among His servants. Indeed, Allah shows mercy to those who are merciful amongst His servants.” [57]
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said, “A son has been born to me this night. I have named him after my father, Abraham.”
The narrator mentioned the continuation of the hadith. Anas said: By God, I saw Abraham struggling for breath in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him). Tears were also flowing from the eyes of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him).
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “Eyes shed tears, and hearts grieve. We only speak what our Lord is pleased with. O Abraham, we are saddened by your death.”
**Explanation:**
The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) had a son from Maryam who died at a young age. He named him Abraham.
Umm Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) forbade us from lamenting aloud at death.
[Note: *Niyaha* refers to lamentation – recounting the virtues of the deceased and listing what they could not achieve, accompanied by loud wailing, which is definitively prohibited.]
Abu Sa'id al-Hudri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, cursed the woman who lamented loudly over a deceased person, recounting his virtues, and the woman who listened to her.
According to a narration from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “Indeed, the deceased is punished because of the weeping of his family over him.” This hadith was mentioned to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said that the narrator, Ibn ‘Umar, had made a mistake in his narration. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) visited a grave. He said: “The owner of this grave is being punished, and his family are weeping over him.” Then Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) recited the verse: "No burdened person bears the burden of another." (An-Najm, 38). In a narration from Abu Muawiya, it is stated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) visited the grave of a Jew. [59]
EXPLANATION
The connection between this honorable hadith and the verse brought as evidence by Aisha is as follows: If a person who is about to die makes a will saying, “If I die, weep loudly for me and lament,” and those remaining fulfill this will, then the deceased is punished because of their weeping. However, if there is no such will, and those remaining weep spontaneously, then he is not punished.
Yezid ibn Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
I entered upon Abu Musa. He was gravely ill. His wife began to weep, or wished to weep. Abu Musa said to her, “Did you not hear what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said?” She replied, “I heard.” And he said that she ceased her voice. Then Abu Musa died.
Yezid recounts; I met his wife, and she said to me, "Abu Musa asked you, 'Did you not hear what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said?'" Then you were silent as well. What was this saying?
The woman said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Indeed, one who plucks out their hair, screams, and tears at the collar [of their garment] during a calamity is not among us.” [60]
**Note:** *[60]* indicates a marginal note or reference number within the original text.
Usayd ibn Abu Usayd from a woman who pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) relates that the woman said: Among the pledges the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took from us were these matters regarding what is proper: that we disobey him not, that we tear at our faces in times of calamity, that we not cry out “Woe to me!”, that we tear at our garments, and that we leave our hair unkempt.