Is it true that the deceased is punished by the weeping of his family over him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence, is it true that the deceased is punished by the weeping of his family over him?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is true that the deceased is punished by the weeping of his family over him, because this is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). However, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed in deriving the ruling from this hadith. Some of them held that it refers to the disbeliever, who is punished by the weeping of his family over him, while the believer is not. But this contradicts the apparent meaning of the hadith, because the hadith is general. These scholars restricted the hadith to the disbeliever to avoid the implication that a person is punished for the sin of another. However, punishing the disbeliever for the weeping of his family over him is also punishing a person for the sin of another.
Some scholars said that the meaning is that he bequeathed it, meaning that the deceased instructed his family to weep over him, so he is the one who ordered this matter, and thus some of the punishment attaches to him.
Others said it refers to a man who knows that his family weeps over their dead, and he did not forbid them from doing so before his death. This is because his approval and silence, indeed his silence while knowing that they are doing it, is evidence of his approval of it. And the one who approves of what is wrong is like the one who does what is wrong.
These are three views on deriving the ruling from the hadith, but all of them contradict the apparent meaning of the hadith, because the hadith does not contain a restriction that it refers to the one who bequeathed it or the one who approved of it. The hadith, on its apparent meaning, states that the deceased is punished by the weeping of his family over him. However, it is not a punishment of retribution, because he did not commit a sin to be punished for. Rather, it is a punishment of pain and distress from this weeping, because he is aware of it, so he feels pain and distress. Pain and distress do not necessarily imply that it is a punishment for a sin. Do you not see his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding travel: Travel is not a punishment, nor is the punishment of travel a retribution, but it is fatigue, preparation, and psychological anxiety. So the punishment of the deceased in his grave is of this type, meaning that he experiences pain, anxiety, and fatigue, even if it is not a punishment for a sin. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. In the question of the listener Falah from Iraq, he says in his question:
The Shaykh : Yes, it is true that the deceased is punished by the weeping of his family over him, because this is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). However, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed in deriving the ruling from this hadith. Some of them held that it refers to the disbeliever, who is punished by the weeping of his family over him, while the believer is not. But this contradicts the apparent meaning of the hadith, because the hadith is general. These scholars restricted the hadith to the disbeliever to avoid the implication that a person is punished for the sin of another. However, punishing the disbeliever for the weeping of his family over him is also punishing a person for the sin of another.
Some scholars said that the meaning is that he bequeathed it, meaning that the deceased instructed his family to weep over him, so he is the one who ordered this matter, and thus some of the punishment attaches to him.
Others said it refers to a man who knows that his family weeps over their dead, and he did not forbid them from doing so before his death. This is because his approval and silence, indeed his silence while knowing that they are doing it, is evidence of his approval of it. And the one who approves of what is wrong is like the one who does what is wrong.
These are three views on deriving the ruling from the hadith, but all of them contradict the apparent meaning of the hadith, because the hadith does not contain a restriction that it refers to the one who bequeathed it or the one who approved of it. The hadith, on its apparent meaning, states that the deceased is punished by the weeping of his family over him. However, it is not a punishment of retribution, because he did not commit a sin to be punished for. Rather, it is a punishment of pain and distress from this weeping, because he is aware of it, so he feels pain and distress. Pain and distress do not necessarily imply that it is a punishment for a sin. Do you not see his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding travel:
It is a piece of punishment
إنه قطعة من العذابThe questioner : May Allah bless you. In the question of the listener Falah from Iraq, he says in his question: