What is the ruling on Niyahah (wailing), slapping faces, tearing garments, beating cheeks, and calling for woe and ruin?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Funerals
Primary text
Wailing (Niyahah), scratching faces, tearing garments (shq al-juyub), beating cheeks, and invoking woe and ruin ('ad-du'a bi al-wayl wa ath-thabur) are forbidden. This is indicated by the apparent meaning of the narrations and the Prophet's prohibition in the hadith of Jabir, which is linked to the verse: {And they shall not disobey you in anything that is right} (Quran 58:12), which Ahmad interpreted as prohibiting Niyahah. Furthermore, the Prophet cursed the female mourner (nā'iḥah) and the listener. Umm 'Atiyyah reported that the Messenger of Allah took a pledge from them at the time of allegiance not to wail, which is agreed upon (Muttafaq 'alayh). Abu Musa narrated that the Prophet disassociated himself from the woman who cries out loudly (Ṣāliqah), the one who tears her hair (Ḥāliqah), and the one who tears her garments (Shāqqah). Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet said, 'He is not one of us who strikes the cheeks, tears the garments, and calls with the call of Jahiliyyah,' which is agreed upon.
Supporting text
These prohibited actions resemble complaining against God's decree, seeking rescue from others besides Allah, and expressing displeasure with God's decree. There is an account stating that if the family of the deceased calls for woe and ruin, the Angel of Death stands at the threshold and declares that if the lamentation is for him, he is commanded; if for the deceased, they are buried; if for their Lord, woe and ruin be upon them; and that he has return visits to make.