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Sahih al-Bukhari 5337 (Book 68, Hadith 82) #5111
Mourning Rituals for Widows

SUMMARY: A widow would go through a period of mourning for one year, during which she would not use any scent. After the year had passed, she would rub her body against an animal and then throw away a globe of dung before using scent again.

I (Humaid) said to Zainab, "What does 'throwing a globe of dung when one year had elapsed' mean?" Zainab said, "When a lady was bereaved of her husband, she would live in a wretched small room and put on the worst clothes she had and would not touch any scent till one year had elapsed. Then she would bring an animal, eg a donkey, a sheep or a bird and rub her body against it. The animal against which she would rub her body would scarcely survive. Only then she would come out of her room, whereupon she would be given a globe of dung which she would throw away and then she would use the scent she liked or the like".
قَالَ حُمَيْدٌ فَقُلْتُ لِزَيْنَبَ وَمَا تَرْمِي بِالْبَعَرَةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ الْحَوْلِ فَقَالَتْ زَيْنَبُ كَانَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ إِذَا تُوُفِّيَ عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا دَخَلَتْ حِفْشًا، وَلَبِسَتْ شَرَّ ثِيَابِهَا، وَلَمْ تَمَسَّ طِيبًا حَتَّى تَمُرَّ بِهَا سَنَةٌ، ثُمَّ تُؤْتَى بِدَابَّةٍ حِمَارٍ أَوْ شَاةٍ أَوْ طَائِرٍ فَتَفْتَضُّ بِهِ، فَقَلَّمَا تَفْتَضُّ بِشَىْءٍ إِلاَّ مَاتَ، ثُمَّ تَخْرُجُ فَتُعْطَى بَعَرَةً فَتَرْمِي، ثُمَّ تُرَاجِعُ بَعْدُ مَا شَاءَتْ مِنْ طِيبٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ‏.‏ سُئِلَ مَالِكٌ مَا تَفْتَضُّ بِهِ قَالَ تَمْسَحُ بِهِ جِلْدَهَا‏.‏
TOPICS
widow  *  mourning  *  scent  *  dung  *  arrajulah  *  huzn  *  misk  *  hamar

QUICK LESSONS:
Follow rituals prescribed by religion while grieving for loved ones , Honor memories with respectful practices , Move on from grief after completing mourning periods .

EXPLANATIONS:
This hadith speaks about the mourning rituals that widows were expected to follow in the past. According to this hadith, when a woman was bereaved of her husband, she was expected to live in a small room and wear plain clothes for one year without using any scent. After this period was over, she would rub her body against an animal such as a donkey or sheep before throwing away a globe of dung and then using scent again. This ritual symbolized that the widow was ready to move on from her grief and start living life normally again after completing her mourning period. It also showed respect towards the deceased husband by honoring his memory with this ritualistic practice.

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