Hadith: “We were forbidden to follow funeral processions, but the prohibition was not mandatory for us.”

عَنْ أُمِّ عَطِيَّةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ:
نُهِينَا عَنِ اتِّبَاعِ الجَنَائِزِ، وَلَمْ يُعْزَمْ عَلَيْنَا.
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه] - [صحيح البخاري: 1278]

’Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:
“We were forbidden to follow funeral processions, but the prohibition was not mandatory for us.”
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim] - [Sahih Bukhari - 1278]

Explanation

’Umm ‘Atiyyah al-Ansāriyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited women from walking with funeral processions. This was due to concerns about potential temptation for them and through them and their limited patience. However, she (may Allah be pleased with her) also mentioned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not emphasize this prohibition as strongly as he did with other forbidden matters.

Benefits from the Hadith

1. Women are prohibited from following funeral processions—this is a general ruling that applies to following the deceased to where the body is prepared and prayed over, and the cemetery where burial occurs.
2. The reason for the prohibition is that women often cannot endure such sorrowful scenes and emotionally intense situations, as they might exhibit distress and anxiety contrary to the required patience.
3. The default ruling of prohibition is that it signifies strict forbiddance. However, ’Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) understood from contextual evidence that the Prophet's prohibition against women following funeral processions was not absolute or emphatic. Nonetheless, there are other Hadīths that indicate stronger restrictions on attending funerals than what this particular Hadīth suggests.