Condolence gatherings and rebuking those who did not attend: What is the guidance on this?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Among the customs of some people in the Kingdom is that they hold condolence gatherings when a member of the tribe passes away, even if he is not a very close relative. They do this on the pretext that if they do not hold a condolence gathering and attend, people will talk about them and criticize them for not holding it. So this condolence gathering has become a custom. What is the guidance on this?

Answer:
A student of knowledge does not submit to customs. He clarifies the Sunnah and does not submit to customs. He clarifies to people this matter and that these are exaggerations and opening the door to obligations that have no basis, and there is in it a resemblance to the al-ta'biyn (mourning ritual) that is practiced. So a student of knowledge clarifies the Sunnah and does not submit to customs. If he had clarified the Sunnah to people, if the knowledge had been sought, they would have clarified to people what is the case, and these matters would not have occurred. But their silence is what emboldened people to do this. Yes.