Prohibition of Fire, Wailing, and Tearing Clothes During a Funeral
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Taking Fire, Wailing, and Tearing Clothes During a Funeral is 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺
It is forbidden (حرام) to accompany a funeral procession with fire, to wail, or to tear one’s clothing while invoking destruction and devastation.
◈ Prophetic Prohibition:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
لا تُتَّبَعُ الْجَنَازَةُ بِصَوْتٍ وَلَا نَارِ
“Do not follow the funeral with raised voices or fire.”
📚 [Abū Dāwūd: 2/64, Aḥmad: 2/427]
Shaykh Al-Albānī رحمه الله explains that although there is some weakness in its chain, it is strengthened by marfūʿ (attributed to the Prophet ﷺ) and mawqūf (attributed to the Companions) narrations.
📘 [Ahkām al-Janā’iz: p. 91]
◈ Supporting Evidences:
➊ It is narrated from Jābir رضي الله عنه:
أنه نهى أن يتبع الميت صوت أو نار
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade that a deceased be followed by sound or fire.”
📚 [Abū Yaʿlā: 2627]
➋ ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنه wrote in his will:
فإذا أنا مت فلا تصحبني نائحة ولا نار
“When I die, do not let there be a wailing woman or fire accompanying me.”
📚 [Muslim: 1/78, Aḥmad: 4/199]
➌ At the time of his death, Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:
ولا تتبعوني بمجمر
“Do not follow me with burning incense (fire).”
📘 Shaykh Al-Albānī رحمه الله commented: Aḥmad narrated this with a ṣaḥīḥ chain.
📘 [Ahkām al-Janā’iz: p. 92]
Al-Albānī رحمه الله considered carrying fire behind the deceased (a practice of the pre-Islamic era) to be among the innovations (bidʿāt).
📘 [Ahkām al-Janā’iz: p. 315]
❖ Condemnation of Pre-Islamic Mourning Practices
It is narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said:
ليس منا من ضرب الخدود وشق الجيوب ودعا بدعوى الجاهلية
“He is not from us who slaps the cheeks, tears the clothes, and utters the calls of the Days of Ignorance (Jāhiliyyah).”
📚 [Bukhārī: 1294; Kitāb al-Janā’iz: Bāb Laysa Minnā man Shaqqa al-Juyūb, Muslim: 103, Tirmidhī: 999, Ibn Mājah: 1584, Nasā’ī: 4/20, Aḥmad: 1/432, Abū Yaʿlā: 5201, Bayhaqī: 4/64, Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 3/288]
✅ Conclusion
✔ It is forbidden to carry fire, engage in wailing, or tear garments during a funeral.
✔ These are practices of Jāhiliyyah and are explicitly condemned in authentic Hadiths.
✔ A funeral in Islam must be conducted with dignity, silence, and in accordance with Sunnah.
