Sunan Ibn Majah
Chapters Regarding Funerals
كتاب الجنائز
Chapter 48
مَا جَاءَ فِي زِيَارَةِ قُبُورِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn al-Bakhtari al-Wasiti narrated to us; Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us, from Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d, from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from his father, who said: ‘A Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “Messenger of Allah, my father used to maintain family ties and did such and such. Where is he?” He replied, “In the Fire.” The man seemed troubled by this and asked, “Messenger of Allah, where is your father?” The Messenger of Allah said, “Whenever you pass the grave of a disbeliever, give him the tidings of the Fire.” The Bedouin later became Muslim and said, “The Messenger of Allah has burdened me with a difficult task: whenever I pass the grave of a disbeliever, I give him the tidings of the Fire.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source uses ‘did such and such’ as an unfinished list of the father’s deeds and later says the Bedouin became Muslim; both details are retained.
Chapter 49
مَا جَاءَ فِي النَّهْىِ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ النِّسَاءِ الْقُبُورَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Abu Bishr narrated to us; they said: Qabisah narrated to us. And Abu Kurayb narrated to us; Ubayd ibn Sa‘id narrated to us. And Muhammad ibn Khalaf al-Asqalani narrated to us; al-Firyabi and Qabisah narrated to us. All of them reported from Sufyan, from Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Khuthaym, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Bahman, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Hassan ibn Thabit, from his father, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed women who frequently visit graves.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source preserves several transmission routes converging at Sufyan. The intensive form زوّارات is rendered ‘frequently visit.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Azhar ibn Marwan narrated to us; Abd al-Warith narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Juhadah narrated to us, from Abu Salih, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed women who frequently visit graves.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This separate report repeats the wording about women who frequently visit graves; its chain is preserved.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Khalaf al-Asqalani Abu Nasr narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Talib narrated to us; Abu Awanah narrated to us, from Umar ibn Abi Salamah, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed women who frequently visit graves.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The intensive plural in the Arabic is rendered ‘frequently visit.’
Chapter 50
مَا جَاءَ فِي اتِّبَاعِ النِّسَاءِ الْجَنَائِزَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Hisham, from Hafsah, from Umm Atiyyah, who said: ‘We were forbidden from following funeral processions, but the prohibition was not made binding upon us.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic contrasts being forbidden with the prohibition not being made binding or emphatic; both clauses are retained.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab al-Himsi narrated to us; Ahmad ibn Khalid narrated to us; Isra’il narrated to us, from Isma‘il ibn Salman, from Dinar Abu Umar, from Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, from Ali, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out and saw some women sitting. He asked, “What are you sitting here for?” They said, “We are waiting for the funeral.” He said, “Will you wash the deceased?” They said, “No.” He asked, “Will you carry him?” They said, “No.” He asked, “Will you help lower him into the grave?” They said, “No.” He said, “Then return bearing sin and without reward.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report lists three tasks the women say they will not perform—washing, carrying, and lowering the deceased—before the Prophet’s closing statement.
Chapter 51
فِي النَّهْىِ عَنِ النِّيَاحَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Waki‘ narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abdullah, the mawla of al-Sahba’, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Umm Salamah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), concerning the words, ‘and that they will not disobey you in what is right’: He said, ‘This refers to wailing.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source quotes a phrase meaning ‘and that they will not disobey you in what is right’ and identifies it with wailing.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us; Isma‘il ibn Ayyash narrated to us; Abdullah ibn Dinar narrated to us; Hariz, the mawla of Mu‘awiyah, narrated to us and said: ‘Mu‘awiyah delivered a sermon in Hims and mentioned in it that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade wailing.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report places the statement within Mu‘awiyah’s sermon in Hims.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Azim al-Anbari and Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us; they said: Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Ma‘mar informed us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Ibn Mu‘aniq, from Abu Malik al-Ash‘ari, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Wailing is one of the practices of the Days of Ignorance. If a woman who wails dies without repenting, Allah will make for her a garment of pitch and a shirt of flames from the Fire.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source identifies wailing as a practice of the pre-Islamic period and gives a conditional warning for a woman who dies without repentance.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf narrated to us; Umar ibn Rashid al-Yamami narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Wailing over the deceased is one of the practices of the Days of Ignorance. If a woman who wails does not repent before she dies, she will be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing garments of pitch, then over them garments of flames from the Fire.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report describes garments of pitch and then garments of flames, with repentance before death stated as the condition.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Yusuf narrated to us; Ubaydullah narrated to us; Isra’il informed us, from Abu Yahya, from Mujahid, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade following a funeral procession accompanied by a wailing woman.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report forbids following a funeral procession if a wailing woman accompanies it.
Chapter 52
مَا جَاءَ فِي النَّهْىِ عَنْ ضَرْبِ الْخُدُودِ، وَشَقِّ الْجُيُوبِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Waki‘ narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Zubayd, from Ibrahim, from Masruq. And Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Yahya ibn Sa‘id and Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, both from Sufyan, from Zubayd, from Ibrahim, from Masruq. And Ali ibn Muhammad and Abu Bakr ibn Khallad narrated to us; they said: Waki‘ narrated to us; al-A‘mash narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Murrah, from Masruq, from Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘He is not one of us who tears open his garment, strikes his cheeks, and cries out with the calls of the Days of Ignorance.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source preserves multiple routes to the report; the three condemned actions—tearing clothing, striking cheeks, and uttering pre-Islamic cries—are all included.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Muharibi and Muhammad ibn Karamah narrated to us; they said: Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid ibn Jabir, from Makhul and al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the woman who scratches her face, tears her neckline, and calls out, “Woe and destruction!”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report names three actions: scratching the face, tearing the garment at its neckline, and calling out words of woe and destruction.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Hakim al-Awdi narrated to us; Ja‘far ibn Awn narrated to us, from Abu al-Umays, who said: I heard Abu Sakhrah mention, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid and Abu Burdah, who said: ‘When Abu Musa became gravely ill, his wife Umm Abdullah came in, crying out loudly with a wailing sound. He regained consciousness and said to her, “Do you not know that I disavow those whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disavowed?” He used to tell her that the Messenger of Allah said, “I disavow those who shave their heads, raise their voices in wailing, and tear their garments.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The three actions in the quoted saying are shaving, raising the voice in lament, and tearing clothing; Abu Musa’s disavowal is attributed to the Prophet’s own disavowal.
Chapter 53
مَا جَاءَ فِي الْبُكَاءِ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; they said: Waki‘ narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from Wahb ibn Kaysan, from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Ata’, from Abu Hurayrah: ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was at a funeral. Umar saw a woman and shouted at her. The Prophet said, “Leave her, Umar. The eye is tearful, the soul is afflicted, and the bereavement is recent.”’ Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Affan narrated to us, from Hammad ibn Salamah, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from Wahb ibn Kaysan, from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Ata’, from Salamah ibn al-Azraq, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, with a similar report.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives two routes, the second explicitly described as similar in wording. The Prophet’s statement recognizes grief and recent bereavement.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Shawarib narrated to us: Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad narrated to us: Asim al-Ahwal narrated to us, from Abu Uthman, from Usamah ibn Zayd, who said: One of the sons of a daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was dying. She sent for him, asking him to come. He sent her this message: ‘To Allah belongs what He takes, and to Him belongs what He gives. Everything has an appointed term with Him. So let her be patient and seek reward.’
She sent for him again and earnestly pressed him to come. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out, and I went with him, along with Muadh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Kab, and Ubadah ibn al-Samit. When we entered, they placed the child in the Messenger of Allah’s hands, while the child’s spirit was heaving in his chest. [The narrator] said: I think he said, ‘as though it were a worn waterskin.’ The Messenger of Allah wept. Ubadah ibn al-Samit said to him, ‘What is this, Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘It is the compassion that Allah has placed in the children of Adam. Allah shows mercy only to those of His servants who are merciful.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says the child was ‘يَقْضِي’ (at the point of death/dying) and that the child’s spirit was ‘تَقَلْقَلُ’ in his chest. The narrator qualifies the comparison with ‘حَسِبْتُهُ قَالَ’ (‘I think he said’); ‘شَنَّة’ is rendered as a worn waterskin. ‘أَقْسَمَتْ عَلَيْهِ’ indicates she adjured or earnestly pressed him. Names follow the Arabic narrator chain.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Suwayd ibn Said narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sulaym narrated to us, from Ibn Khuthaym, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Asma bint Yazid, who said: When Ibrahim, the son of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), died, the Messenger of Allah wept. The one consoling him—either Abu Bakr or Umar—said to him, ‘You are the one most entitled to honor Allah as He deserves.’
The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The eye sheds tears and the heart grieves, but we do not say anything that angers the Lord. Were it not that there is a true promise and a promised gathering, and that the latter follows the former, we would have felt more grief for you, Ibrahim, than we have. We are indeed grieving for you.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The consoling speaker is explicitly uncertain in the Arabic: ‘either Abu Bakr or Umar.’ The closing clause is translated closely; ‘وَعْدٌ صَادِقٌ وَمَوْعُودٌ جَامِعٌ’ refers to a true promise and a promised gathering, while the wording and relation of these phrases are compressed.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " تَدْمَعُ الْعَيْنُ وَيَحْزَنُ الْقَلْبُ وَلاَ نَقُولُ مَا يُسْخِطُ الرَّبَّ لَوْلاَ أَنَّهُ وَعْدٌ صَادِقٌ وَمَوْعُودٌ جَامِعٌ وَأَنَّ الآخِرَ تَابِعٌ لِلأَوَّلِ لَوَجَدْنَا عَلَيْكَ يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَفْضَلَ مِمَّا وَجَدْنَا وَإِنَّا بِكَ لَمَحْزُونُونَ " .
The relationship between the true promise, the promised gathering, and the latter following the former is compressed and somewhat opaque in this wording.
Does the closing clause refer to the assured reunion after death? The translation retains the Arabic phrasing pending review.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us: Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Farawi narrated to us: Abdullah ibn Umar narrated to us, from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Jahsh, from his father, from Hamnah bint Jahsh: She was told, ‘Your brother has been killed.’ She said, ‘May Allah have mercy on him. Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we return.’ They said, ‘Your husband has been killed.’ She said, ‘O my grief!’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A husband has a special place with a woman that no other thing has.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final expression ‘لَشُعْبَةً مَا هِيَ لِشَىْءٍ’ is an unusual idiom; it is rendered as a special place or bond, preserving the comparison without expanding it.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harun ibn Said al-Misri narrated to us: Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us: Usamah ibn Zayd informed us, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by women of Banu Abd al-Ashhal who were weeping for their dead on the day of Uhud. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘But Hamzah has no one to weep for him.’
Then women of the Ansar came and wept for Hamzah. The Messenger of Allah awoke and said: ‘Woe to them! Have they still not gone back? Tell them to go back, and let them not weep for anyone who dies after today.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The initial words ‘لكن حمزة لا بواكي له’ contrast the women’s mourning for their own dead with the absence of mourners for Hamzah. ‘ما انقلبن بعد؟’ is retained as a question about whether they had yet returned.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ibrahim al-Hijri, from Ibn Abi Awfa, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade elegies for the dead.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘المراثي’ refers to elegies composed or recited in mourning for the deceased; ‘elegies for the dead’ keeps the scope concise.