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Wearing black at times of calamity… a wrong custom with no basis

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Publication : 13-05-2001

Views : 6107

Question

Is it permissible to wear black as a sign of mourning for the deceased, especially for one’s husband?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

Wearing black at times of calamity is a wrong custom that has no basis…  When disaster strikes, one should do what is prescribed in Islam, which is to say “Innaa Lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon (Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return)” [al-Baqarah 2:156 – interpretation of the meaning], and “Allaahumma i’jurni fi museebatini wakhluf li khayraan minhaa (O Allaah, reward me for my calamity and compensate me with something better).” If he says that with faith and seeking reward, then Allaah will reward him for that and compensate him with something better. But there is no basis for wearing a certain kind of clothes, such as wearing black etc. This is a wrong and blameworthy practice.

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Source: From the fataawa of Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Majallah al-Da’wah, no. 1789, p. 60