The Weeping of Rasulullah SAW 4400

A person weeps because of certain reasons. At times one cries because of mercy and kindness; at times because of fear; sometimes because of fondness and love; sometimes due to intense happiness; sometimes due to pain or sorrow; at times due to the oppression of someone. Among these there is the crying of taubah (repentance) which is an outcome of some sin committed; one type of crying is due to nifaaq (hypocrisy), which is done for show, where one cries in Solat so that others may feel that that person is crying due to piety, humbleness etc.; one type of crying is for a request, for instance where one cries for a dead person without taking any remuneration; one type is to cry for a remuneration where for example one is paid to cry at the house of a dead person as is the custom in some areas of certain lands; one type of crying is the crying of acceptance where one sees another crying and after seeing this he also begins to cry, etc.

Rasulullah SAW mainly cried due to the fondness and love for a deceased person, or for fear of, on behalf of the Ummah, or because of the fear or longing for Allah Ta'ala, as will be seen in the narrations under the above title. Only these types of crying are praiseworthy.

The scholars of Islam have written - one type of crying is called a lie, that is the crying of a person after committing a sin but thereafter does not refrain from that sin. The commentators on hadith write the crying, of the Prophet Dawud AS was due to sorrow. The crying of the Prophet Ibrahim AS was due to a desire, and the crying of Rasulullah SAW was because of love.