Is it permissible for a person to say to the dying person, "And indeed, we are grieved by your departure"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is it permissible for a person to say to the dying person, "And indeed, we are grieved by your departure," when the soul is being extracted?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is nothing wrong with it. This address is not intended to convey its literal meaning or implication that the one being addressed is understanding and able to respond.
The questioner : But that is what happens.
The Shaykh : And the worst of what people do with their tongues is that they intend the actual address, just as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding the Black Stone: "I do not know that you are a stone that can do harm or benefit."
The Shaykh : Yes, there is nothing wrong with it. This address is not intended to convey its literal meaning or implication that the one being addressed is understanding and able to respond.
The questioner : But that is what happens.
The Shaykh : And the worst of what people do with their tongues is that they intend the actual address, just as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding the Black Stone: "I do not know that you are a stone that can do harm or benefit."
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1218 - 4600 هل يجوز للإنسان أن يقول للميت وهو في النزع وإنا على فراقك لمحزونون؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.