Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:

In another narration, it is stated that this (mercy) is what Allah has placed in the hearts of His servants. For such people, it is a natural matter to feel sorrow in the heart upon seeing those afflicted by calamity. "The merciful are shown mercy by the Most Merciful" — the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has spoken the truth.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
The purpose of Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is to clarify that sometimes the term "mercy" (rahmah) is applied to the creation, and this is a result of that mercy which is the attribute of Allah, the Exalted. As the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in response to Sa'd bin 'Ubadah radi Allahu anhu, said:
"This is the mercy of Allah which He creates in the hearts of His servants, and Allah also shows mercy to only those of His servants who are merciful."
(Sahih al-Bukhari:
Kitab al-Tawhid, Hadith: 7377)
Although the mentioned words are not present in the cited hadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, as per his usual practice, has alluded to this hadith through the one presented.
Undoubtedly, the mercy of Allah is also a creation, which is the result of Allah's attribute of mercy, as is stated in the Noble Qur'an:
"He it is Who sends the winds as glad tidings before His mercy (rain)."
(al-Furqan 25:48)
Also, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
"Allah created one hundred portions of mercy. He placed only one portion among His creation, and kept ninety-nine (99) portions of mercy with Himself."
(Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Tawbah, Hadith: 6973(2752))

2.
In the hadith, Paradise (Jannah) is also described as mercy, which is a creation of Allah, the Exalted. Paradise is very close to the people of faith;
between them and Paradise, there is only death.
As soon as their souls depart from their bodies, their place and abode will be Paradise.
May Allah, the Exalted, grant all the people of faith Jannat al-Firdaws and Jannat 'Adn. Ameen, Lord of the worlds.

Hadith Commentary:
There was a well-known difference of opinion between Ibn Umar and Aisha (radi Allahu anhum) on this issue: whether the deceased is punished because of the lamentation (niyahah) of his family or not. Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has conducted a lengthy examination of this difference in this chapter. The author (rahimahullah) will mention several ahadith related to this, and in a lengthy hadith that will appear in this chapter, the details of their disagreement on this matter are also present.

Aisha (radi Allahu anha) was of the opinion that the deceased is not punished due to the lamentation of his family, because every person is only responsible for his own actions. The Qur’an itself states that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another: ﴿لاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَة وِّزرَ اُخرٰی﴾ (: al-An’am: 164). Therefore, how can the sin committed by the family of the deceased due to lamentation be placed upon the deceased? However, Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) had in mind the hadith: “The deceased is punished due to the lamentation of his family.” The hadith was clear and specific to the deceased, but the Qur’an mentioned a general ruling.

Aisha (radi Allahu anha) responded that Ibn Umar was mistaken; the statement of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was related to a specific incident. A Jewish woman had passed away. The original punishment was due to disbelief (kufr), but the lamentation of her family further increased it, as they were mourning her contrary to her actual state and attributing virtues to her that she did not possess. Therefore, what the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said on that occasion was not about Muslims.

However, the scholars did not accept this reasoning of Aisha (radi Allahu anha) against Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu). On the other hand, the hadith of Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was also not applied in every circumstance; rather, its details were refined in light of other legal principles and evidences, and then it was accepted as a principle. The various explanations and details of this hadith given by the scholars have been written in detail by Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah).

The conclusion of Imam Bukhari’s (rahimahullah) examination is that there is a principle in the Shari’ah. The hadith states: “All of you are shepherds, and all of you are responsible for your flock.” This hadith, in multiple and varied narrations, is found in the books of hadith and in Bukhari itself. It is a detailed hadith, and it explains in detail that from the king down to the most ordinary servant, everyone is a shepherd and guardian, and all will be questioned about their charges.

Here, the author of Tafheem al-Bukhari has written an erudite statement, which we quote with thanks in the “Explanation.” The Noble Qur’an states: ﴿قُوا أنفسَکُم وأهلِيکُم ناراً﴾ (: al-Tahrim: 6) “Save yourselves and your families from the Fire.” Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has clarified at this point that just as the Shari’ah has commanded self-reform, it has likewise commanded the reform of one’s dependents; therefore, neglecting the reform of either is destructive.

Now, if there was a custom of unlawful lamentation and mourning in the deceased’s home, but during his lifetime he did not prevent them from it, and despite being aware of this evil occurring in his home, he was negligent, then in the view of the Shari’ah, he is also guilty. The Shari’ah has established the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil (amr bil-ma’ruf wa nahi ‘anil-munkar). It was necessary that, under this principle, he should have tried during his life to prevent his family from this. But if he did not do so, then it is as if he himself became the cause of this action. The perspective of the Shari’ah in this matter is far-reaching.

In this examination, Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has also narrated the hadith that “If a person is killed unjustly (wrongfully), then up to a certain extent, the responsibility for that killing falls upon Adam’s (alayhis salam) first son (Qabil).” Qabil killed his brother Habil. This was the very first unjust killing on the face of the earth. Before this, the world was unaware of such an act. Now, since the innovation of this form of oppression was first introduced by Adam’s son Qabil, a portion of the sin of every unjust killing until the Day of Judgment will also be recorded in his name.

If this principle of the Shari’ah is kept in view, then many fundamental aspects of reward and punishment become clear. Consider also the principle stated by Aisha (radi Allahu anha). She said that the Qur’an itself has decided that “no person bears the burden of another.” Aisha (radi Allahu anha) said: What choice does the deceased have? His connection with this world has ended. He can neither prevent anyone nor has any power over them. Then how can the responsibility for a sin he did not commit be placed upon him? If one reflects at this point, it becomes clear that although the Shari’ah has set rules and regulations for everything, sometimes many principles come together in a single issue, and it is here that the scope of ijtihad (independent reasoning) begins.

The question arises: under which rule does this particular case fall? And among these various principles, in terms of their implications, to which principle is this case closest? In this issue, Aisha (radi Allahu anha) decided by her ijtihad that the connection of lamentation and mourning with the deceased relates to the Qur’anic principle that “no person bears the burden of another.” As we have explained in detail, the Ummah has not accepted Aisha’s (radi Allahu anha) ijtihad in this matter.

We have written this lengthy note on this chapter because some fundamental principles related to daily life have come to light in it. As for the question of lamentation and mourning, Islam rejects it due to the unnecessary and futile actions that were practiced in this regard. Otherwise, grief at the death of a loved one or any relative is natural, and Islam not only permits its expression, but from the hadith it is known that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) called those whose hearts did not feel any pain at the death of their loved ones as hard-hearted. In the life of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) himself, there were several occasions when, upon the death of a loved one, his patience overflowed and tears flowed from his eyes. (Tafheem al-Bukhari)

In the presence of clear legal texts (nusus shar’iyyah), ijtihad contrary to them is not acceptable, no matter who performs the ijtihad. Opinion and analogy are the very diseases that have ruined the Ummah and caused it to be divided and subdivided. Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has provided an appropriate explanation of the statement of Aisha (radi Allahu anha), and that is correct.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has written that the "son" mentioned in the hadith could refer to Ali ibn Abi al-As radi Allahu anhu, who was from the womb of Hazrat Zaynab radi Allahu anha, but in none of the chains of this hadith is he mentioned.
Or it could refer to Abdullah ibn Uthman radi Allahu anhu, who was from the womb of Hazrat Ruqayyah radi Allahu anha.
When he passed away, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam held him in his lap and said that Allah has mercy on those who are accustomed to showing mercy to others.
It is also possible that it refers to Hazrat Muhsin ibn Ali radi Allahu anhu, whom Hazrat Fatimah radi Allahu anha gave birth to.
The scholars are agreed that he died in childhood while the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was still alive.
But this would only be possible if the one who sent the message to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was a daughter other than Hazrat Zaynab radi Allahu anha.
The correct view is that it was indeed Hazrat Zaynab radi Allahu anha, and the child was not a boy but a girl, as is found in Musnad Imam Ahmad, that Hazrat Imam bint Zaynab was brought to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
And in one narration it is also mentioned that she was the daughter of Hazrat Abu al-As radi Allahu anhu.
At that time, her breath was labored, as if something was making a sound in a water skin that had been set down.
In some narrations, the word "Umaymah" appears.
She is the same as the aforementioned Imam, because the scholars of genealogy are agreed that Hazrat Zaynab radi Allahu anha had only two children from Hazrat Abu al-As:
one was Ali and the other was Hazrat Imam.
But the problem with this is that the scholars of history are also agreed that Hazrat Imam radi Allahu anha lived after the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to the extent that after Hazrat Fatimah radi Allahu anha, she was married to Hazrat Ali radi Allahu anhu and remained with him until his martyrdom.
This shows that she lived to a considerable age.
The answer to this problem is that when Hazrat Zaynab sent the message to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that the child was in the throes of death and her soul was departing, what was meant was that she was near death, because in the narration of Hammad it is stated that the child was in a state of dying.
The words of Shu’bah’s narration are: "My daughter’s time of death has come."
In Sunan Abi Dawud, it is mentioned with uncertainty whether it was a son or a daughter, but the correct view is that it was a girl, not a boy.
This is also supported by the narration of Tabarani, that when Hazrat Imam bint Abi al-As radi Allahu anha’s illness became severe and she was near death, Hazrat Zaynab called for her noble father, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and when he saw her in the throes of death, he was moved to tears, upon which Hazrat Sa’d radi Allahu anhu asked a question, as is mentioned in the hadith.
It appears that Allah Ta’ala dealt with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam with utmost honor in this incident, such that, compelled by his state of submission and contentment and his extreme mercy and compassion, he was moved to tears, and seeing the patience and steadfastness of his daughter, Allah granted his granddaughter complete health and recovery, and thereafter she lived for a long time.
In conclusion, Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has written that this astonishing and miraculous incident should have been mentioned among the miracles of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
(Fath al-Bari: 3/200) (2)
From this hadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established that crying is permissible as long as it is not accompanied by wailing, as it mentions the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam being moved to tears.
For spontaneous weeping, neither will the deceased be punished nor will the one who weeps be held accountable; rather, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has declared it to be a mercy from Allah.
And Allah knows best.

Benefits and Issues:
➊
For tears to flow from the eyes due to excessive grief over the deceased is a natural matter.
Therefore, this is not something blameworthy.
Rather, it is a sign of a soft heart and compassion.

➋
If a person’s heart is hard,
and at such occasions, the natural grief that occurs,
if even its permissible expression is not shown, then this is hardness of the heart,
which is not praiseworthy.
This condition is treatable.
And its remedy is to remember death frequently,
to visit the graveyard, and to deal kindly with orphans.
By performing these actions, the hardness of the heart can be replaced with softness.

➌
If there is any message to be conveyed or received nearby, then good etiquette is that the greeting of salam should be conveyed first.

Benefits and Issues:

➊ Patience at the time of calamity is among the important teachings of Islam.

➋ At the time of calamity, a person should reflect that whatever Allah has taken from us was not ours, but rather belonged to Allah Himself; therefore, we have returned Allah’s trust (amanah) to Him.

➌ It is Allah’s favor that He allows His trust (amanah) to remain with us for a period of time, and we benefit from it and find happiness in it. And when He takes back His trust, then even for being patient, He grants us reward and recompense. This too is His favor.

➍ Grief in the heart and tears flowing from the eyes are not contrary to patience.

➎ It is permissible to make a request of someone by putting them under oath.

➏ If the matter for which an oath is taken is not prohibited by the Shariah, then fulfilling it is a right of one Muslim upon another.

➐ Whether it is a time of grief or happiness, if a question regarding a religious issue is asked, it should be clarified.

➑ To be saddened by one’s own or someone else’s calamity is a sign of tenderness of heart, which is beloved to Allah, the Exalted.

➒ By showing mercy and compassion to Allah’s creation, a servant attains Allah’s mercy.

➓ At the time of death, it is not necessary for all relatives to be present; however, it is permissible for the family to desire that at such a time, righteous people be near, so that through their supplication and blessing, the pangs of death may be eased.