Is It Sharʿī to Sit for Three Days with Mats Spread Out? A Detailed Explanation
📚 Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Matters of Funerals, Volume 1, Page 264
❖ Question:
Is the currently practiced method — wherein mats or rugs are spread out and people sit for three days after someone’s death — correct according to Islamic teachings? And is it permissible to go there and make duʿāʾ?
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
Islamic Sharīʿah prescribes mourning (iḥdād) only in specific circumstances, and its original ruling applies exclusively to women. This is clearly outlined in the following ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ:
«مَا يَحِلُّ لِامْرَأَةٍ تُؤْمِنُ باﷲِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ أَنْ تُحِدَّ عَلٰی مَيِّتٍ فَوْقَ ثَلاَثٍ إِلاَّ عَلٰی زَوْجٍ فَإِنَّهَا تُحِدُّ عَلَيْهِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا»
“It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except in the case of her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Janāʾiz, Bāb Iḥdād al-Marʾah ʿalā Ghayr Zawjihā)
✿ Ruling on the Common Practice:
✘ The customary method of spreading out mats or rugs (“paṭṭī” or “ṣaff”) for three days and sitting as a gathering has no basis in the Qur’ān or any authentic ḥadīth.
✘ Similarly, the duʿās and rituals performed during these sittings also lack any established Sharʿī evidence.
✅ The Islamically Permissible Way of Offering Condolences (Taʿzīyah):
✔ During taʿzīyah, one should encourage patience to the family of the deceased.
✔ Offering words of comfort and support is the Sunnah method.
✘ Any additional practices not proven from the Sharīʿah are considered innovations (bidʿah) and are non-Islamic in nature.
Conclusion:
The three-day mourning gatherings with organized sittings and specific rituals are not from the Sunnah, nor are they supported by Sharīʿah. Only those practices should be followed which are authentically established from the Prophet ﷺ.
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I understand, and Allah knows best what is correct.
