Bulugh al-Maram

Benefit:
There is an objection in this hadith, namely that in this way, punishment is being established for the deceased due to the weeping of another person, whereas Allah the Exalted has said:
«وَلَا تَزِرُوَازِرَةٌ وٌزَرَاُخْرٰي» [بني اسرائيل : 15 ، 17]
“No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.”
The scholars have given several answers to this objection. One of them is that if wailing (niyahah) was also the practice of the deceased himself, and he maintained it during his lifetime, then in that case he will be punished; otherwise, he will not. Another answer is that the deceased will be punished if he himself instructed (made a bequest for) it; otherwise, he will not be punished. «والله اعلم»

Hadith Commentary:
Shawkani rahimahullah said that weeping, tearing clothes, and wailing are all prohibited acts. A group among the Salaf, among whom are Umar and Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma, hold the view that the deceased is punished due to the weeping of his people. The majority of scholars interpret this to mean that punishment occurs to the one who made a bequest for people to weep over him. However, we say that it is established from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in absolute terms that the deceased is punished due to weeping over him.
We have accepted and heard the statement of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
We do not add anything beyond this.
Imam Nawawi rahimahullah has transmitted consensus (ijma‘) that the type of weeping which causes punishment to the deceased is the weeping that is accompanied by loud lamentation and wailing, not merely the shedding of tears.
(Wahidi)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Through these ahadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has attempted to resolve a disagreement between Aisha radi Allahu anha and Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhu. Aisha radi Allahu anha used to say that a deceased person will not be punished due to the weeping of his family over him, because this is their own action, and its burden will not fall upon the deceased. The statement of Allah Almighty is:

﴿وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ﴾ (: Surah al-An'am: 164)
“No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.”

Whereas Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhu, on the contrary, used to say that the deceased will be punished due to the weeping of his family over him, and he would establish this from hadith. Aisha radi Allahu anha responded that the hadith mentions a particular incident: a Jewish woman was being punished, so the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that she is being punished while her family is weeping over her. Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhu considered this a general rule for Muslims and others.

The scholars have written that it is not correct for Aisha radi Allahu anha to attribute error or forgetfulness to Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhu, because similar narrations are found from other Companions radi Allahu anhum as well. On this basis, it cannot be assumed that all of them were mistaken.

Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has mentioned about eight reasons for the deceased being punished due to the weeping of his family, which can be seen in detail in Fath al-Bari. (: Fath al-Bari: 3/198)

In this regard, the explanation adopted by Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has been detailed in the chapter heading: that the deceased will be punished due to the weeping of his family only if he had established or approved the practice of lamentation (nawh) for his family, or knowing that after his death they would lament and mourn over him, he did not instruct them to refrain from this act. This is because, in the days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), people used to instruct that lamentation be performed over them after their death.

Islam has prohibited lamentation and mourning, that is, not to enumerate the qualities of the deceased while weeping, nor to mention such qualities or actions that are religiously forbidden or unspeakable. There is no restriction on mentioning true and praiseworthy qualities, but they should not be mentioned while weeping. Weeping without lamentation or tears flowing naturally is also permitted.

(2)
Imam Bukhari, by using the word “some,” has indicated that the weeping which is blameworthy is such that its cause is the deceased himself, so he will be punished for it, because every person should reform himself and his family. If the family is not prevented from the wrong path, the deceased will be held accountable for it. And the weeping which is permitted is a cause of mercy and a sign of tenderness of heart; there will be no punishment for it.

Imam Bukhari has deduced this from the ahadith he presented, that is, the essence of this explanation is to divide the issue in the chapter heading into multiple circumstances, and to clarify that the Shariah holds one accountable not only for committing a sin but also for being the cause of its commission. Therefore, it is not correct to apply a single ruling to all situations and to completely ignore the other scenario.

The explanation of Imam Ibn Hazm rahimahullah is also noteworthy: the people of Jahiliyyah, while lamenting, used to mention the actions of the deceased that made him deserving of the punishment of Hellfire, for example: “You destroyed such-and-such tribe due to enmity, you raided such-and-such tribe,” and they would mention such atrocities as a matter of pride. Since all these heinous acts were those of the deceased, he would be punished for them; the weeping itself would not be the cause. In other words, the deceased will be punished due to his own actions, not because of the lamentation of others. It is a separate matter that those who lament and mourn will be held accountable for acting contrary to the Shariah.

(3)
This explanation is also noteworthy: that by “punishment” is meant the deceased being reproached. As in the incident of Abdullah ibn Rawahah radi Allahu anhu, when he fell unconscious, his sister began to lament, saying, “You were such-and-such, you were such-and-such.” At that time, the angels said to Abdullah ibn Rawahah radi Allahu anhu, “Were you really such?” (: Sahih al-Bukhari, Maghazi, Hadith: 4267)

In short, Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has conducted a very fine discussion on this; it should be reviewed. (: Fath al-Bari: 3/197, 198, 199)

(4)
In the hadith in which it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed by the deceased of a Jewish woman and said, “They are weeping over her while she is being punished in her grave,” some mischief-makers have derived from this the notion of the “Barzakh grave,” claiming that the punishment of the grave does not occur in this earthly grave but rather in the Barzakh grave, as is (allegedly) indicated in this hadith. However, the concept of the Barzakh grave is an innovation of later times; in the earliest generations, no one was familiar with such a grave.

The statement of Allah Almighty is:

﴿وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم مَّاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَىٰ قَبْرِهِ﴾ (: Surah al-Tawbah: 84)
“If any of them (the hypocrites) dies, never pray over him and do not stand at his grave.”

In this verse, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is prohibited from standing at the graves of the hypocrites to supplicate for them. Here, what is meant is the earthly grave, because no human being can access the “Barzakh grave.”

Moreover, the aforementioned hadith is narrated through another chain as follows: the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed by the grave of a Jewish deceased and said, “She is being punished while her family is weeping over her.” (: Sunan Abi Dawud, Jana'iz, Hadith: 3129)

In this narration, it is explicit that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed by the earthly grave. Its details will be explained later.

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: The meaning of "Hayy" is both "alive" and "tribe/clan." Due to its relation to "Ahl" (people/family), here its meaning will be "tribe."

Benefits and Issues:

➊
This hadith clarifies the punishment that is inflicted upon the deceased due to the weeping of others.
It is also understood from this hadith that the weeping referred to here is not merely the shedding of tears, but rather uttering inappropriate words with the tongue becomes a cause for the deceased’s punishment.

➋
In response to his student’s objection, Musa alayhis salam drew attention to the authenticity of the chain of narration. From this, it is understood that an authentic hadith is never in contradiction to the Noble Qur’an.
However, at times, an apparent contradiction may be perceived.
In such cases, reconciliation is established between the verse and the hadith in the same manner as when two verses of the Qur’an seem to be mutually contradictory, the scholars clarify them in such a way that no contradiction remains.

➌
The meaning of the Qur’anic verse is that no one should be arrogant on account of the fact that among his ancestors there was a certain pious and righteous person,
and thus assume that he will also attain salvation on the Day of Judgment.
Nor should anyone be looked down upon because his forefathers were not righteous.
Rather, whoever performs righteous deeds will receive reward,
and whoever commits sins will be punished.

➍
Whoever calls someone towards goodness,
he receives a reward equal to that of the one who performs the good deed.
This does not mean that the reward for one person’s action is given to another,
rather, it is the reward for his own action—namely, encouraging goodness.
The reward for this encouragement continues to increase as others act upon it.
Similarly, due to encouraging sin, the punishment also continues to increase.
The Qur’anic verse does not refute this reality.