6/53. Chapter:
Sunan Ibn Majah 1587 — Natural Tears in Grief
What was narrated concerning weeping for the deceased
Natural Tears in Grief Are Not Wailing
Sunan Ibn Majah : 1587
Sunan Ibn MajahHadith Number 1587
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَعَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ كَانَ فِي جِنَازَةٍ فَرَأَى عُمَرُ امْرَأَةً فَصَاحَ بِهَا فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " دَعْهَا يَا عُمَرُ فَإِنَّ الْعَيْنَ دَامِعَةٌ وَالنَّفْسَ مُصَابَةٌ وَالْعَهْدَ قَرِيبٌ " . حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ، عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ سَلَمَةَ بْنِ الأَزْرَقِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ بِنَحْوِهِ .
Abu Hurairah Narrated from:
The Prophet (ﷺ) was attending a funeral. ‘Umar saw a woman and shouted at her, but the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Leave her alone, O ‘Umar, for the eye weeps and the heart is afflicted, and the bereavement is recent.”
Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 1587In-book reference : Book 6, Hadith 155English translation : Vol. 1, Book 6, Hadith 1587
Summary of Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 1587
This hadith about natural tears in grief shows a gentle side of the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم guidance. At a funeral, Umar saw a woman and shouted at her. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told him to leave her alone, saying that the eye weeps, the heart is afflicted, and the bereavement is recent. The text makes an important difference between forbidden wailing and natural sadness. A person who has just faced loss may cry because the pain is fresh. The hadith teaches care, not harshness, in such a moment. It does not open the door to forbidden mourning practices. It simply shows that tears and a wounded heart are part of human grief.
What we learn from this hadith
- Fresh grief may bring tears and emotional pain.
- People in recent bereavement should be treated gently.
- Natural crying is different from forbidden wailing.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم showed mercy during a funeral.
