Some scholars said: This applies to one who instructed his family to do so; that is, who said to them, “When I die, weep for me.”

It was also said: This applies to one whose people customarily weep—that is, among a people for whom weeping is customary—and he did not forbid his family from doing so. It is then as though he approved of what people had become accustomed to in this matter.

It was also said: This applies to the disbeliever, who is punished because of his family’s weeping over him.

And it was said: The punishment mentioned here is not punitive punishment, but rather the torment of distress and the like. Such torment does not necessarily constitute a punishment. Supporting this is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Travel is a portion of torment.” (1) Yet the traveler is not being punished; rather, he is troubled and suffers on account of it. Likewise, the deceased is made aware of his family’s weeping over him, and he feels pain and distress out of compassion for them and because they are weeping for him. This is not a form of punishment.

This answer is the best of the answers.

However, weeping prompted by human nature, which comes upon a person without choice, causes no pain to anyone, because it is something customary. Indeed, a person does not feel distressed when he sees the bereaved weeping in this ordinary manner. Rather, he feels pain and compassion when he sees him weeping in a contrived manner or excessively beyond what is customary.

Question: Is it permissible for a bereaved person to observe mourning for the deceased by giving up his trade, abstaining from garments of adornment, refraining from going out for recreation, or the like?