Prophetic Guidance Regarding Condolences and Sitting for Them

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you with truth, what is the Prophetic guidance regarding condolences? And what is the ruling on sitting in the home for the purpose of condolences, because people come from outside the town?

Answer:
Condolences are permissible; they involve consoling the bereaved, but within limits that do not lead to exaggeration, such as causing fatigue, spending money, interrupting work in the homes, or suspending business. These are exaggerations. However, consoling the bereaved when you meet him in the mosque, in the house, in the street, or in the cemetery after the burial is not without consolation, because this strikes the heart of your Muslim brother and shares in his calamity. It also comforts him when you console him. So what is the haste like? It is similar, but they exaggerate in it. They suspend work for it, they set up tents and a large amount of food, and they suspend people from their work, or they travel for the sake of the condolence. All of this is not allowed; it is not prescribed, and it causes hardship for people.
And it causes fatigue for the bereaved as well. That is, instead of being occupied with the calamity, he is also occupied with accommodating the visitors and preparing food for them. Two matters converge on him: the calamity and the joy of receiving these people, who become a burden on them.