The Book of Prayer - Funerals

Sahih Muslim 927 b

Hadith Text

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The deceased is punished in the grave due to the wailing over him."

Scholarly Commentary

This hadith establishes that excessive wailing and lamentation over the deceased can cause punishment for them in the grave. The scholars explain that this refers specifically to niyāḥah - the pre-Islamic practice of loud, dramatic wailing accompanied by chest-beating, garment-rending, and excessive expressions of grief that demonstrate discontent with Divine Decree.

Imam al-Nawawi clarifies that the punishment occurs when the deceased had instructed such wailing to be performed over them or approved of it during their lifetime. The deceased bears responsibility for not forbidding this prohibited practice.

Natural grief and shedding tears without loud lamentation or objection to Allah's decree are permitted. The prohibition is against the excessive, organized wailing that was common in jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance).

This ruling serves to protect the Islamic concept of patient acceptance (ṣabr) in facing trials and maintains proper decorum in expressing grief while affirming complete submission to Allah's will.