Chapter: The Prohibition of Reviling the Dead without Just Cause or a Legitimate Sharʿī Benefit—such as warning people against imitating the deceased in his innovation (bidʿah) or flagrant sin (fisq), and the like. The Qur’anic verse and the reports cited in the preceding chapter are also pertinent here.

1564 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “Do not revile the dead; they have already gone on to face the consequences of what they sent ahead.” Related by al-Bukhārī.

Commentary
The compiler—may Allah have mercy on him—entitles this section: “The prohibition of reviling the dead without right or a legitimate sharʿī interest.”

“The dead” here refers to deceased Muslims. A disbeliever, by contrast, enjoys no such inviolability—unless insulting him would distress his living relatives, in which case he should not be reviled. When no such harm is feared, no sanctity attaches to him. This clarifies the author’s phrase “without right,” for we are indeed entitled to denounce deceased unbelievers who harmed, fought, or sought to corrupt the Muslims.

The qualifier “or a legitimate sharʿī interest” covers situations such as a deceased innovator who used to spread his innovation among the people. In that case it is beneficial to censure him, warn against him, and expose his way so that others are not deceived by him.