Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

It is narrated from Hazrat Usama bin Zaid that when the daughter of Hazrat Zainab was brought to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), tears came to his eyes. Hazrat Zainab was gasping for breath, as if she was in old age. Seeing this condition, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to weep. A person said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! You are weeping, even though you have forbidden weeping? The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: These are tears of mercy which Allah Almighty has placed in the hearts of His servants. Surely, Allah is merciful to those of His servants who are merciful to others.

It is narrated from Hazrat Jabir that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the hand of Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf and went towards the date palm trees. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) son Ibrahim was brought, and at that time he was near death. He was placed in the lap of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O son! I do not have control over anything for you from Allah, and tears came to the eyes of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Hazrat Abdur Rahman said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Are you weeping? Did you not forbid weeping? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have forbidden wailing, from two wicked and foolish sounds: the sound of amusement and play at the time of blessing, and the sound of the devil’s flute, and the sound at the time of calamity: scratching the faces, tearing the collars, and screaming loudly like the devil. Indeed, these are tears of mercy, and whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy. O Ibrahim, if this matter were not true, if the promise were not true, and if the path and direction were not unknown, and if those who come later were not soon to meet those who came before, then our grief for you would have been greater than this. And indeed, we are grieved because of you, the eyes weep and the heart is sad and sorrowful, and we will not say anything that would displease our Lord.

It is narrated from Hazrat Urwah that when the hadith of Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) was mentioned before Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the deceased is punished because of the weeping of the living, she said: Abu Abdur Rahman has made a mistake in this matter just as he made a mistake regarding the slain of the wells of Badr. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Surely, the deceased is being punished while his family is weeping over him.

It is narrated from Hazrat Anas that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A son was born to me last night, and I have named him Ibrahim after my father’s name." Then he sent him to Umm Saif to nurse him, who was the wife of Abu Saif, the blacksmith of Madinah. Then the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went, and I also went with him. We suddenly reached Abu Saif, who was blowing into his bellows, and because of this, the whole house was filled with smoke. I walked faster than the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and reached Abu Saif and said to him: "O Abu Saif, stop, stop! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has arrived." So he stopped. Then the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called for his son, held him to his chest, and said what Allah willed. Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I saw him (Ibrahim) suffering the pangs of death. Tears flowed from the eyes of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The eyes are shedding tears, and the heart is grieved, and we will not say anything except that which pleases our Lord. And O Ibrahim! We are very saddened and grieved because of you."

Hazrat Ikrimah narrates that Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: Remember this hadith, one of the daughters of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was near death. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted her with his own hands and held her to his chest. The narrator says that she was near death until she passed away. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laid her down and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was weeping. Hazrat Umm Ayman began to wail. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is not appropriate for you to weep in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Hazrat Umm Ayman said: Am I not seeing the Messenger of Allah weeping? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I am not weeping, these are tears of mercy.