You mentioned in a previous lesson that gathering for condolences in homes is a religious innovation; what is the alternative in your view?

The questioner : You mentioned in a previous lesson that gathering for condolences in homes is a religious innovation; what is the alternative in your view?

The Shaykh : In our view, the alternative is to offer condolences in the manner in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) consoled one of his daughters. She sent a messenger to him to console him for the death of a boy or girl of his—I have forgotten which—but he said to the messenger: . Condolences are not a matter of absolute necessity. One offers condolences to a person so that he may be strengthened to be patient with the calamity. Therefore, there is no alternative that is said to be: close the doors, turn off the lights, and leave the house as it was before the death of the deceased. If people adopt this approach, they will not need to establish an alternative. In countries where they do not hold condolence gatherings, people do not find a void that they need to fill. The deceased passes away, and there are no condolence houses, no arrival of absentees, and nothing of the sort, as if the matter were a natural occurrence. This questioner asked because I assume he is from a country afflicted with this religious innovation. Otherwise, countries that have not been afflicted with this religious innovation do not find a void if they leave this religious innovation. The remedy for that is to leave this religious innovation and forget it. If a person who has been afflicted is found in the mosque, in the market, or in his shop, and it is seen that he is affected by the calamity, he should be advised and consoled with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to console his daughter with: "Be patient and seek reward, for to Allah belongs what He has taken and what He has left, and everything is with Him by a specified term."