Abu Mālik al-Ash‘ari reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Four in my Ummah are among the affairs of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance that have not been abandoned: boasting of noble ancestries, defaming lineages, seeking rain from the stars, and wailing. And he said: If the wailing woman does not repent before her death, she will be made to stand on the Day of Judgment wearing a garment of pitch and a chemise of mange..
Commentary :
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was keen on bringing his Ummah out from Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic era of ignorance) with all its evils, sins, and polytheism to Islam and its laws with all its goodness and monotheism.
In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) depicts matters that were and are still practiced by some people, and such matters belong to the people of Jāhiliyyah. So, he warned us against them and pointed out that whoever adopts any of such matters is, in fact, adopting one of the pre-Islamic traits and must abandon it and adhere instead to what has been legislated by Islam concerning such a trait and its likes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reports that four characteristics exist in the Ummah of Islam that are from the affairs and usual attributes of the people of Jāhiliyyah. He said that such traits would last in the Ummah and would not be abandoned as other pre-Islamic practices have been abandoned, for if they are abandoned by one party, others will come and adhere to them.
The first thing of such matters: It is "boasting of noble ancestries," which is taking pride in, bragging about, and exalting the characteristics, virtues, and bounties that are either in him or his family. "Hasab" (noble ancestry) refers to the personal traits one enumerates, such as bravery, eloquence, etc. "Boasting of noble ancestries" means acting arrogantly and loftily by enumerating one's virtues and his forefathers' remarkable feats, which entails deeming oneself better than others and looking down upon them. In the version of Abu Dāwūd, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has removed from you the pride of Jāhiliyyah and its boastfulness about the ancestors. It is either a pious believer or a miserable sinner. People are the children of Adam, and Adam is from dust."
The second repugnant matter: "Defaming lineages," which means finding fault with people's lineages like discrediting the lineage or negating one's attribution to his father, is a malicious claim because it results in dividing Muslims and causing turmoils and evils, besides slandering people.
The third matter is: It is "seeking rain from the stars," which refers to supplicating and seeking water through rainfall by believing that the stars are the cause of such rain, as they used to say in the pre-Islamic era of ignorance: we have been given rain because of such-and-such star; whereas, having a belief that it is actually the cause for rainfall is disbelief. Rain is part of Allah's mercy towards His slaves and falls according to His decree. It is one of the things that Allah Almighty spoke about, saying: {Indeed, Allah has the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will do tomorrow, nor does any soul know in which land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.} [Surat Luqmān: 34]
Fourth matter: "Wailing" means weeping over the dead by shouting, screaming, expressing impatience, and enumerating the deceased person's traits and virtues by saying, for instance: Alas for the brave one! Alas, for the lion! Alas, for the mountain!
Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) , warned the wailing women if they did not repent for wailing before their death, saying, "If the wailing woman does not repent before" the time of "her death, she will be made to stand on the Day of Judgment," the wailing woman, who did not repent, will be made to stand and will be gathered among the standing people to be exposed on the Day of Judgment, as a recompense for her wailing, while wearing a garment of pitch, which is molten copper or paint used for painting. It is also said: that it is grease with which the scabby camel is rubbed to burn the mange, and its heat could reach the inside. "And a chemise of mange," "dir‘" (chemise) is a kind of women's shirts, i.e., she will be wearing another chemise of mange. This means that all her skin will be scabious and will act like a chemise covering her skin and sticking to her the way a chemise covers and sticks to her. He restricted repentance to the time before death to make it known that one of the conditions of repentance is for the repentant to repent while having hopes that he will still live and might commit the act for which he is repenting. This is supported by what is mentioned in the Book of Allah: {However, repentance is not for those who commit evil deeds until death approaches one of them; he then says, “Now I repent.”} [Surat an-Nisā’: 18]
Such a punishment is for wailing and enumerating the dead person's merits because both acts involve objection to Allah's decree. As for crying out of sadness and mercy for the deceased person, there is nothing wrong with that, as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is mercy that Allah has placed in the hearts of His slaves. Verily, Allah shows mercy to those of His slaves who are merciful." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
The Hadīth includes one of the signs of the Prophet's prophethood.
It warns against boasting of noble ancestries and against slandering lineages.
It calls for preserving people's honor and refraining from slander.
It clarifies the fact that one's value depends on his personality and deeds, not on his forefathers' feats.
It warns against wailing over the dead.
It emphasizes that rain comes from Allah Almighty, and the stars have nothing to do with it. So, water should be sought from none but the Creator and the Omnipotent, who can make the rainfall..
Hadiths
