any kind of pain or distress, as in the report: “Travel is a portion of suffering.” Some have challenged this by citing the words of the Most High:

“And it is He who makes people laugh and weep” (43) [al-Najm 43],

as has been reported from Ibn ‘Abbās. Those who take this view regard causing laughter and weeping as acts of the Lord, Exalted is He, like causing death and giving life, and therefore hold that they are not to be prohibited.

This view, too, is weak. Numerous hadiths have been transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibiting wailing and similar forms of weeping. He also said: “Allah, Exalted is He, does not hold one to account for the tears of the eyes or the sorrow of the heart, but He does hold one to account for this—or show mercy,” and he pointed to his tongue.