Ruling on Wailing (Niyāḥah / Bayn) in Islam
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī
❖ Question
What is the Islamic ruling on bayn (wailing and lamentation over the dead)?
❖ Answer
Wailing (bayn) and lamentation (niyāḥah) are ḥarām by consensus and are considered among the major sins.
❖ Scholarly Consensus
◈ Imām al-Nawawī (d. 676H):
((أجمعت الأمة على تحريم النياحة على الميت والدعاء بدعوى الجاهلية، والدعاء بالويل والشبور عند المصيبة))
“The Ummah has unanimously agreed on the prohibition of wailing over the dead, invoking the slogans of Jāhiliyyah, and supplicating with words of ruin and destruction at the time of calamity.”
— al-Adhkār, p. 146
He also said:
((كل هذا حرام باتفاق العلماء))
“All of these acts (disheveling the hair, striking the face, scratching the cheeks until they bleed, wailing, and supplicating with ruin) are ḥarām by consensus of the scholars.”
— al-Adhkār, p. 147
❖ Evidence from Ḥadīth
◈ ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (RA):
((ليس منا من لطم الخدود، وشق الجيوب، ودعا بدعوى الجاهلية))
“He is not from us who strikes the cheeks, tears the collar, or calls with the calls of Jāhiliyyah.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1294
◈ Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (RA):
((إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم برئ من الصالقة والحالقة والشاقة))
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ disassociated himself from the woman who wails loudly (ṣāliqa), the one who shaves her head in grief (ḥāliqa), and the one who tears her clothes (shāqqa).”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1296
- Ṣāliqa: A woman who wails and laments loudly.
- Ḥāliqa: A woman who shaves her head in mourning.
- Shāqqa: A woman who tears her garment in grief.
Conclusion
- Wailing (bayn / niyāḥah) is ḥarām and a major sin.
- The Prophet ﷺ disassociated himself from those who practice it.
- Muslims must practice patience (ṣabr) and avoid un-Islamic mourning practices.
