His weeping and humility ﷺ
His weeping ﷺ in prayer
Abdullah ibn ash-Shikhkhir, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was praying, and from his chest there was a hissing like the hissing of a cauldron from weeping.” — Narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and authenticated by Ibn Hibban, Ibn Khuzaymah and al-Hakim. 'Al-azīz' is the sound of a pot boiling — this is a metaphor for the intensity of his weeping ﷺ and the boiling of his innards with tears from the fear of Allah the Exalted.
- And from his chest was a hissing like the hissing of a cauldron from weeping in prayer — narrated by Abu Dawud
- He wept ﷺ when the verse of testimony was recited to him in Surah An-Nisa — [Muttafaqun 'alayhi]
- She stood the whole night repeating the verse: "If You punish them, then they are Your servants" until morning — narrated by Ahmad
His weeping ﷺ upon hearing the Qur'an
Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Recite to me.' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, shall I recite to you when it was revealed to you?' He said, 'I like to hear it from others.' So I recited Surah An-Nisa until I reached: 'So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and We bring you as a witness against these?' (Qur'an 4:41) — and I saw the eyes of the Prophet ﷺ shedding tears.” — [al-Bukhari] [Muslim]
- He ﷺ used to weep when he heard the Qur'an out of fear of his Lord
- He wept ﷺ when the verse of testimony was recited to him in Surah An-Nisa — [Muttafaqun 'alayhi]
- His tears ﷺ are a mercy from Allah which He places in the hearts of the merciful
His weeping ﷺ is mercy for his Ummah
Abdullah ibn Amr, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: “One day the sun was eclipsed in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; he stood to pray until he scarcely bowed, then he bowed until he scarcely raised his head, then he would blow and weep and say, 'My Lord, did You not promise me that You would not punish them while I am among them?'” — narrated by al-Tirmidhi in ash-Shama'il.
- He ﷺ used to weep from fear of Allah out of reverence, not out of fear of sins
- He wept ﷺ when his daughter died and his tears flowed — narrated by Anas in [al-Bukhari]
- He wept ﷺ in the eclipse prayer out of compassion for his Ummah and fear of the punishment of Allah
- He ﷺ was the most fearful of Allah among people, while at the same time the closest to Him and the highest in rank