Is the deceased punished by the weeping of his family over him?
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The questioner : The questioner says: Is the deceased punished by the weeping of his family over him?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 1286, 1287, 1288 And in another narration: This hadith has been difficult for many scholars, and they asked: How can a person be punished for the action of another? Some answered that the meaning is the deceased who instructed his family to wail and weep over him. Others answered that the meaning is the deceased who knew that his family would do so and did not instruct them to refrain from it. The correct view is that there is no need for this interpretation, and that the meaning of the punishment is the suffering of the deceased in his grave, even if it is not a punishment for a sin. This is supported by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding travel: It is known that the traveler is not punished with a punitive punishment, but it is a punishment of pain and fatigue. So the meaning is that the deceased suffers and is fatigued by the weeping of his family over him. This applies to the weeping that a person makes an effort to produce, or by which he makes a sound and wails. As for the weeping that nature dictates, it is unavoidable in most cases, and there is no sin in it, and it does not cause punishment for the deceased, because this is a matter that is not intentional and from which one cannot escape. Based on this, we say: The weeping of the deceased's family over him has three states. The first state: The deceased is punished with a punitive punishment, and this is if he instructed his family to do so and they did it to carry out his instruction.
The second: He is punished with a punishment of suffering and pain, not a punitive punishment, and this is if they wept in a way that goes beyond what nature dictates, without him having instructed them to do so.
The third: Weeping for which the deceased is not punished, neither with a punitive punishment nor a punishment of pain, that is, suffering. This is if the weeping is in accordance with nature, without being forced or intentional.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
The dead person is tortured by the crying of his relatives.
إن الميت ليعذب ببكاء أهله عليهby the wailing over him
بما نيح عليهIt is a piece of punishment
إنه قطعة من العذابThe second: He is punished with a punishment of suffering and pain, not a punitive punishment, and this is if they wept in a way that goes beyond what nature dictates, without him having instructed them to do so.
The third: Weeping for which the deceased is not punished, neither with a punitive punishment nor a punishment of pain, that is, suffering. This is if the weeping is in accordance with nature, without being forced or intentional.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.