Ḥābis, “This is nothing but mercy, and Allah shows mercy only to those of His servants who are merciful.” The Prophet’s tears over that child, then, were not shed out of grief; they flowed out of tenderness and compassion for a little one wrestling with death. He said, “Allah shows mercy to His merciful servants.” May Allah make us and you among them.

Another instance of the same, permissible kind of weeping is the natural sorrow one feels at the loss of a loved one, as happened to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—when his son, Ibrāhīm, died. Ibrāhīm was born to Maria the Copt, whom the ruler of Egypt had sent to the Prophet as a gift. The boy grew and thrived until he was about sixteen months old—one year and four months—when Allah took his soul. The Prophet named him Ibrāhīm after Abraham, the intimate friend of the Most Merciful, in keeping with the verse, “the creed of your father Abraham.” When Ibrāhīm reached roughly sixteen months, Allah caused him to die, and he was brought to the Prophet. The Messenger of Allah said, “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, but we do not say except what pleases our Lord. Indeed, O Ibrāhīm, we are saddened at your departure.” The child passed away, and the Prophet informed the Companions that a wet-nurse in Paradise is suckling him.

This sort of crying is not blameworthy, for it is a reaction demanded by human nature and innate disposition; it does not indicate anger or resentment toward Allah’s decree and predestination.

The second type, however, is the wailing (niyāḥah) in which a person raises his voice in lamentation. Because of such wailing the deceased is punished in his grave—may Allah protect us. You may be wailing, while your dead relative is being tormented in his grave for the very wailing performed over him; as long as you continue, the torment continues, and thus you become the cause of his suffering—Allah’s refuge is sought.

For this reason some people err grievously—may Allah grant them well-being—when a relative dies: they wail and cry aloud. While they persist in this, the deceased is being punished in his grave on account of their lamenting over him, as has been authentically reported from the Prophet.