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Nai (announcing a death)

النَّعْي

Nai, in the lexicon, is news of a death; the announcer (nai) brings or spreads it. The Arabs used to send a rider to tell the tribes of the death of a noble man. 1 Lamentation and wailing are related but not necessarily part of the announcement. Wailing is raising the voice in weeping with a keen. 2 Informing neighbours, friends and the righteous is recommended; announcing quietly is permitted; calling it out is disliked by the Hanbalis and Malikis; wailing, boasting and the pre-Islamic form are forbidden. 3 4 5 6 7

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Health, body and death

Summary

Nai, in the lexicon, is news of a death. The announcer brings or spreads it. Arab tribes used to send a rider to announce the death of a noble man. 1 Nadb (praise by calling out) and nawh (wailing with a keen) are related but do not necessarily accompany the announcement. 2

Rulings on nai

Form: no fixed wording is prescribed; humble and pleading phrasing is preferred. 2 Ruling: opinions range from recommended to forbidden. Ibn al-Arabi divides it into three: informing family is a sunna, calling a crowd to boast is disliked, and an announcement in the manner of wailing is forbidden. 3 Recommended: informing neighbours and friends so they may pray for the dead; the Prophet ﷺ announced the death of the Negus. 3 4 Disliked: for the Hanbalis, informing someone who is not a relative, friend or neighbour, or calling out the news; for the Malikis, calling out in a mosque or its door. 6 Forbidden: announcements with loud weeping, praise of the dead for boasting, and the pre-Islamic form. 6 7 Permitted: a plain announcement of the death; calling it out in markets is disputed, and the sounder view is that it is not disliked if no praise or glorification is added. 5

People and things also explored

Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation· Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· Grief and worry (al-huzn)· The clot stage of the embryo (alaqa) and the rulings on its loss· Alya (the rump, and its rulings)· Anf (the nose, and its rulings in purification, prayer, fasting and retaliation)· Anthayan (the two testicles, and rulings on them)· Reason as the basis of legal capacity and of the blood-money (aql)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15797
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15798
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15799
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15800
  5. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15801
  6. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15802
  7. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.15803
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Nai (announcing a death)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/nai/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation

In the lexicon, adhm is the bone that has flesh on it, plural 'idham and 'izam. Most jurists hold that a human bone is pure, whether living or dead, of a Muslim or not; that a fish bone stays pure after death; and that the bone of a lawfully slaughtered edible animal is pure and may be used. The bone of carrion, or of a non-edible animal, is impure according to the Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Ishaq, and cannot be purified; the Hanafis hold it pure, and 'Umar disliked oiling in ivory. On cleansing after excretion with a bone, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid it; the Hanafis dislike it as forbidden but accept that it suffices; the Malikis forbid a carrion bone and allow a pure bone with disapproval. Most jurists allow retaliation for a bone only at a joint, since equality cannot be achieved elsewhere.