There are many ahadith that allege that the dead are tortured in their graves when the live wail over their demise. Some add that women who do not repent over their wailing are accursed and will be punished on the Day of Judgement, Sahih Bukhari – hadith numbers: 2.322, 2.378, 2.379, 2.380, 2.391; Sahih Muslim – hadith number 2033; Sunan Abu Dawud –
hadith numbers: 3122, 3165; al-Tirmidhi – hadith numbers 1751, 2207, 2829.
Are such ahadith true?

The following considerations should be made:
1. Firstly, claims that ‘the dead are tortured because the living wail over them viz.
Bukhari Ahadith 2.378, 2.379, 2.380, 2.391, contradict Allah’s teaching in the Holy Qur’an:

No soul is recompensed for [good or evil] deeds which are not theirs, and none bear burdens not their own. Qur’an 6:164

A bearer of burdens will not bear the burden of another, even if an overburdened soul begs another to share its hardship, no one, not even close relatives will. Qur’an 35:18
Every person is responsible for his/her own actions. Qur’an 52:21

Rules of exegesis – tafsir – and the principles of jurisprudence demand the rejection of ahadith which contradict the clear ayat of the Qur’an. Indeed, people are not accountable for the actions of others.

2. According to the Islamic discipline that examines and verifies the reliability of narrators –
al-Jarh wal-Taadil – not all relaters of these ahadith are considered reliable sources. For example, both Bukhari and Muslim include ahadith narrated by al-Mughirah ibn Shubah, about whom
Imam Ali (A.S) said:
He falsifies truth by misrepresenting it. Amali of Shaykh Mufid
Assembly 25, Hadith No. 5

3. Every Muslim learns how to behave and what to do from the example set by the Holy
Prophet (PBUH). When his son Ibrahim (A.S) died, Muhammad (PBUH) is recorded as having said:

We are aggrieved by your death. Our eyes shed tears and the heart feels pain, but we do
not utter anything which might displease our Lord. Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 22, p. 151

In pre-Islamic times, women were employed to fabricate and extol ‘virtues’ of the deceased and to wail over their passing. The Prophet (PBUH) forbade the employment of such professional mourners because he said, ‘Weeping shows the mercy which Allah instils in His servant’s hearts and it is hypocritical for anyone to feign it’.

4. It is recommended that we share the sorrows and sadness of those who have been unjustly treated or tortured because, in that way, we strengthen our faith in Allah and our adherence to the teachings of Islam.