The Book of Funerals

Sulayman ibn Mansur al-Balkhi narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Jabbar ibn al-Ward narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abi Mulaykah say: When Umm Aban died, I attended with the people and sat between ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar and Ibn ‘Abbas. The women wept, and Ibn ‘Umar said: ‘Will you not stop these women from weeping? I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “The deceased is indeed punished because of some of his family’s weeping for him.”’ Ibn ‘Abbas said: ‘‘Umar used to say something like that. I went out with ‘Umar, and when we were at al-Bayda’, he saw a caravan beneath a tree and said: ‘Find out whose caravan it is.’ I went and found Suhayb and his family. I returned and said: ‘Commander of the Believers, it is Suhayb and his family.’ He said: ‘Bring Suhayb to me.’ When we entered al-Madinah, ‘Umar was struck [and wounded]. Suhayb sat beside him, weeping and saying: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my brother!’ ‘Umar said: ‘Suhayb, do not weep. I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “The deceased is indeed punished because of some of his family’s weeping for him.”’’’ Ibn ‘Abbas said: I mentioned that to ‘A’ishah, and she said: ‘By Allah, you are not reporting this hadith from two men who lie and are accused of lying; rather, hearing can err. The Qur’an contains what should satisfy you: “No bearer of burdens will bear another’s burden.” But the Messenger of Allah said: “Allah increases the disbeliever’s punishment because of his family’s weeping for him.”’

‘Ali ibn Hujr narrated to us: Isma‘il—meaning Ibn Ja‘far—narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr ibn Halhalah, from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Ata’, that Salamah ibn al-Azraq said: I heard Abu Hurayrah say: A deceased person from the family of the Messenger of Allah died, and the women gathered to weep for him. ‘Umar stood up, telling them to stop and turning them away. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Leave them, ‘Umar. The eye is tearful, the heart is afflicted, and the loss is still recent.’

‘Ali ibn Khashram narrated to us: ‘Isa narrated to us, from al-A‘mash. [A change of chain:] al-Hasan ibn Isma‘il informed us: Ibn Idris narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from ‘Abdullah ibn Murrah, from Masruq, from ‘Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘He is not one of us who strikes his cheeks, tears open his garments, and cries out with the cries of the pre-Islamic era.’ The wording here is ‘Ali’s. Al-Hasan said: ‘with a call’ [instead of ‘with the call of the pre-Islamic era’].

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us: Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from ‘Awf, from Khalid al-Ahdab, from Safwan ibn Muhriz, who said: Abu Musa lost consciousness, and they wept for him. He said: ‘I disavow this to you, just as the Messenger of Allah disavowed it to us: “He is not one of us who shaves his head, tears his garments, or wails loudly.”’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: Zubayd told me, from Ibrahim, from Masruq, from ‘Abdullah, that the Prophet said: ‘He is not one of us who strikes his cheeks, tears open his garments, and cries out with the calls of the pre-Islamic era.’

Ahmad ibn ‘Uthman ibn Hakim informed us: Ja‘far ibn ‘Awf informed us: Abu ‘Umais narrated to us, from Abu Sakhrah, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid and Abu Burdah, who said: When Abu Musa became gravely ill, his wife began crying out. He regained consciousness and said: ‘Did I not tell you that I disavow those whom the Messenger of Allah disavowed?’ They said: He used to tell her that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘I disavow the one who shaves his head, tears his garments, or wails loudly.’

Ishaq ibn Mansur narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Zubayd, from Ibrahim, from Masruq, from ‘Abdullah, from the Prophet, who said: ‘He is not one of us who strikes his cheeks, tears open his garments, and cries out with the calls of the pre-Islamic era.’

Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Muhammad narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from Yazid ibn Aws, from Abu Musa, who lost consciousness, and one of his umm walad [a woman who had borne him a child] wept. When he regained consciousness, he asked her: ‘Have you not heard what the Messenger of Allah said?’ We asked her, and she said: He said: ‘He is not one of us who wails loudly, shaves his head, or tears his garments.’

‘Abdah ibn ‘Abdullah narrated to us: Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us: Isra’il narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from Yazid ibn Aws, from Umm ‘Abdullah, the wife of Abu Musa, from Abu Musa, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘He is not one of us who shaves his head, wails loudly, or tears his garments.’

Hannad narrated to us, from Abu Mu‘awiyah, from al-A‘mash, from Ibrahim, from Sahm ibn Minjab, from al-Qartha‘, who said: When Abu Musa became gravely ill, his wife cried out. He said: ‘Do you not know what the Messenger of Allah said?’ She replied: ‘Yes.’ Then she fell silent. Later, she was asked: ‘What did the Messenger of Allah say?’ She replied: ‘The Messenger of Allah cursed the one who shaves his head, wails loudly, or tears his garment.’

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: ‘Abdullah informed us, from ‘Asim ibn Sulayman, from Abu ‘Uthman, who said: Usamah ibn Zayd told me: The Prophet’s daughter sent word to him: ‘My son is at the point of death, so come to us.’ He sent her his greetings and said: ‘What Allah takes belongs to Him, and what He gives belongs to Him; everything with Allah has an appointed term. Let her be patient and seek reward.’ She sent word to him again, adjuring him to come. He stood up and went with Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Zayd ibn Thabit, and other men. The boy was brought up to the Messenger of Allah, and his breath was rattling. The Messenger’s eyes overflowed with tears. Sa‘d said: ‘Messenger of Allah, what is this?’ He said: ‘This is compassion that Allah places in the hearts of His servants. Allah shows mercy only to those of His servants who are compassionate.’

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Ja‘far narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Thabit, who said: I heard Anas say: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Patience is at the first shock.’

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us: Abu Iyas—Mu‘awiyah ibn Qurrah—narrated to us, from his father, may Allah be pleased with him, that a man came to the Prophet with his son. The Prophet asked him: ‘Do you love him?’ The man replied: ‘May Allah love you as I love him.’ The son later died, and the man felt his loss and asked about him. The Prophet said: ‘Would it not please you that whenever you come to any of the gates of Paradise, you find him there, hurrying to open it for you?’

Suwayd ibn Nasr narrated to us: ‘Abdullah narrated to us: ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id ibn Abi Husayn informed us that ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb wrote to ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Husayn to console him for the death of his son. In his letter, he mentioned that he had heard his father relate from his grandfather, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘When Allah takes away from among the people of the earth someone dearly loved by His believing servant, and the servant bears it patiently, seeks reward from Allah, and says what he has been commanded to say, Allah accepts no reward for him less than Paradise.’

Ahmad ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Sarh narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to us: ‘Amr told me: Bukayr ibn ‘Abdullah told me, from ‘Imran ibn Nafi‘, from Hafs ibn ‘Ubaydullah, from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever bears the loss of three of his own children, seeking reward from Allah, will enter Paradise.’ A woman stood and asked: ‘What about two?’ He said: ‘Or two.’ The woman said: ‘I wish I had asked about one.’

Yusuf ibn Hammad narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Warith narrated to us, from ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘There is no Muslim whose three children die before reaching puberty but that Allah will admit him to Paradise through His mercy toward them.’

Isma‘il ibn Mas‘ud informed us: Bishr ibn al-Mufaddal narrated to us, from Yunus, from al-Hasan, from Sa‘sa‘ah ibn Mu‘awiyah, who said: I met Abu Dharr and said: ‘Tell me a hadith.’ He said: ‘Yes. The Messenger of Allah said: “There are no two Muslims between whom three children die before reaching puberty but Allah will forgive them through His mercy toward those children.”’

Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa‘id, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘No Muslim whose three children die will be touched by the Fire, except for the brief fulfillment of the oath.’

Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim ibn ‘Ulayyah and ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad narrated to us: They said: Ishaq—the one known as al-Azraq—narrated to us, from ‘Awf, from Muhammad, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, who said: ‘There are no two Muslims between whom three children die before reaching puberty but that Allah, through His mercy toward those children, will admit both of them to Paradise.’ He said: ‘They will be told: “Enter Paradise.” They will say: “Not until our parents enter.” Then they will be told: “Enter Paradise, you and your parents.”’

Ishaq informed us: Jarir informed us: Talq ibn Mu‘awiyah and Hafs ibn Ghiyath told me. He said: My grandfather, Talq ibn Mu‘awiyah, told me, from Abu Zur‘ah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah with a son of hers who was ill. She said: ‘Messenger of Allah, I fear for him; I have already lost three children.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘You have indeed built a strong barrier against the Fire.’