Central Khutbah: “When the Eyes Say What the Tongue Cannot Express”
A person sometimes succeeds in hiding what they think, silencing their voice and holding back their words, but they are not always able to stop their tears. They appear when a feeling becomes stronger than our ability to express it. That is why tears are not only connected to sadness. A person cries because of loss and pain, but also because of joy, relief, gratitude, fear, love, longing, and encountering something that deeply touches them.
Yazīd ibn Maysara said:
“People cry for seven reasons: happiness, sadness, fear, pain, hypocrisy, gratitude, and fear of Allah.”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’, 5/235)
How many different states can lie behind the same tear. Outwardly they look the same, but not all tears are alike, just as not all hearts are alike.
Psychology views crying as a natural way of expressing strong emotions. Tears can appear in states of deep sadness, fear, helplessness, and loneliness, but also after the end of great tension, in moments of joy, gratitude, or relief. Crying also has a social role: it shows others that a person has been affected, is vulnerable, or needs closeness. Research shows that seeing tears in another person increases the observer’s willingness to approach, show compassion, and offer support. A tear, therefore, is not only an inner reaction but also a form of human communication.
However, it is not true that a person necessarily feels better after every time they cry. Sometimes tears bring relief, and sometimes they leave an even greater heaviness. Much depends on the reason for crying, the circumstances, the person’s character, and whether they received understanding and security afterwards. Tears can open what has been suppressed for a long time, but they do not solve the problem by themselves.
Crying is therefore neither weakness nor strength in itself; rather, it is a sign that something powerful is happening within a person. Some people cry easily, while others find it difficult. Some show their pain through their eyes, others through silence, and others through withdrawal. The inability to cry is not necessarily a sign of hardness, just as many tears are not always a sign of depth.
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī pointed precisely to this:
“There are people whose eyes weep, but whose hearts do not weep. So whoever’s eyes weep, let his heart weep as well.”
(Muṣannaf, 7/189)
The eye may shed a tear while the heart remains unchanged. A person may be deeply moved without being transformed; they may cry over words and then continue living as if they had never heard them.
Tears in the Qur’an and the Sunnah
The Qur’an does not portray human beings as creatures without emotions. Allah says:
“And it is He who causes laughter and tears.”
(An-Najm, 53:43)
Both laughter and tears are part of human nature. Faith does not remove emotions; it educates and guides them.
Ya‘qūb (Jacob), peace be upon him, grieved for a long time over his son Yūsuf (Joseph):
“And he turned away from them and said: ‘Oh, my sorrow over Joseph!’ His eyes became white from grief, and he was deeply distressed.”
(Yūsuf, 12:84)
Ya‘qūb’s sadness did not mean that he lacked patience. He suffered and felt longing, but he did not lose hope in Allah. His example shows that patience (ṣabr) does not mean that a person feels nothing; rather, despite pain, they do not sever their connection with Allah and do not surrender to despair.
When Ibrāhīm, the son of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, passed away, the Prophet’s ﷺ eyes shed tears. He then said:
“The eyes shed tears, the heart grieves, but we only say what pleases our Lord. Indeed, O Ibrāhīm, we are saddened by your departure.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 1303)
These words do not contain a denial of grief. The eyes cry and the heart hurts, but a person remains responsible for what they say even in pain. Islam does not ask a person to stop feeling; rather, it teaches them not to let their emotions lead them to what displeases Allah.
The Qur’an also speaks about tears that arise from encountering Revelation:
“When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they would fall down upon their faces, weeping.”
(Maryam, 19:58)
“And they fall upon their faces weeping, and it increases them in humility.”
(Al-Isrā’, 17:109)
Here, crying is not an end in itself. Before it comes listening to the words of Allah, and after it comes an increase in humility and reverence.
The Qur’an also describes those who, upon hearing the Revelation, recognized the truth:
“When they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because they have recognized the Truth.”
(Al-Mā’idah, 5:83)
What they heard did not remain only in their minds; rather, it touched their hearts and appeared through their eyes.
In Sūrah At-Tawbah, mention is made of those who came to the Prophet ﷺ wishing to leave with him, but they had no means to do so:
“They returned with their eyes overflowing with tears, saddened that they could not find anything to spend.”
(At-Tawbah, 9:92)
They did not cry because of a lost worldly benefit, but because they wanted to do good, yet were unable to accomplish it. Their tears were a testimony of sincere intention.
The value of your tear
Who would buy the tears of your eyes? Go to the marketplace and offer them to people. Would you find even a single buyer, at any price? You would find no market value for them. Yet how much can one sincere tear be worth in the sight of Allah, the Most High!
What is insignificant in the eyes of people can be عظَمَة (great) in the sight of Allah, especially when a tear flows from a heart aware of His greatness, aware of its own shortcomings, and conscious of meeting Him.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Mustafa, said:
“Two eyes will not be touched by the Fire: an eye that wept out of fear of Allah, and an eye that spent the night standing guard in the path of Allah.”
(Jāmi‘ At-Tirmidhī, no. 1639; ḥadīth ḥasan)
Such a tear may remain hidden from people, falling in the silence of the night, seen by no one except Allah. Its value is not in how many people noticed it, but in front of Whom it flowed and from what kind of heart it came.
It has been reported in a narration:
“All the deeds of the children of Adam will be weighed, except tears shed out of fear of Allah; Allah will extinguish the seas of Hellfire with a single tear.”
(Aḥmad, Az-Zuhd, no. 144; the chain of this narration is weak)
Due to the weakness of this narration, these words cannot carry the status of an authentic ḥadīth. However, their educational meaning reminds us of the authentic texts concerning the virtue of sincere crying out of fear of Allah.
When the righteous predecessors cried
In the statements of the righteous predecessors, we often find mention of crying. They cried during prayer, while reciting the Qur’an, in solitude, when they reflected on their deeds, the passing of time, and their meeting with Allah.
It is reported about Fuḍayl ibn ‘Iyāḍ:
“I have not seen anyone who was more conscious of Allah than Fuḍayl ibn ‘Iyāḍ. When he mentioned Allah, or when someone else mentioned Allah in his presence, or when the Qur’an was recited, such fear and concern would appear on his face that he would begin to cry. He would cry so much that those present would feel compassion for him.”
(Siyar A‘lām an-Nubalā’, 8/426)
It is reported that Al-Awzā‘ī divided his night into three parts: prayer, recitation of the Qur’an, and crying. When his mother entered the room where he was praying, she would find the place of his prayer wet from his tears.
(Siyar A‘lām an-Nubalā’, 7/119)
‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī said:
“I accompanied and listened to Sufyān ath-Thawrī for several nights. In his fear, he would say: ‘The Fire! The Fire! The Fire has kept me from sleeping and from following my desires!’”
(Siyar A‘lām an-Nubalā’, 7/276)
Ibn Mahdī also said:
“I was unable to hear Sufyān’s recitation of the Qur’an because of how much he cried.”
(Siyar A‘lām an-Nubalā’, 7/277)
It is reported that Ibn Al-Mubārak, when the book Az-Zuhd was read to him, cried so much that he could no longer speak.
(Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, 1/278)
Thābit Al-Bunānī cried so much that his eyes became affected. When the doctor told him that he would treat him on the condition that he stopped crying, Thābit asked:
“How?”
The doctor replied:
“By no longer crying.”
He responded:
“What benefit are they to me then if they will not cry?”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’, 2/323)
It is also reported that he cried until he lost his eyesight.
(Musnad Ibn Ja‘d, p. 209)
These reports do not mean that losing one’s health is an objective of the religion, nor that a person should deliberately force himself to cry. Rather, they speak of the intensity of feelings that some people were unable to hide or restrain.
For others, crying arose from a sense of responsibility.
‘Abd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd narrated that ‘Utbah once felt compassion for himself because of his excessive crying. He then began to cry and said:
“I cry because I have not fulfilled my obligations.”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’, 6/236)
Abū ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān As-Sulamī narrated the words of Abū Aḥmad Al-Ḥāfiẓ:
“The most valuable crying is crying over time that was not used, or crying over the mistakes that a person has committed.”
(Shu‘ab al-Īmān, 1/509)
The time that has passed cannot return. A person may cry most sincerely when they realize how many opportunities have gone by, how many good deeds they postponed, and how many days they spent on things that will not benefit them.
Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, cried on his deathbed. When he was asked why he was crying, he replied:
“Success is still far away, provisions are few, and the crossing is difficult; it leads either to Paradise or to the Fire.”
(Aḥmad, Az-Zuhd, p. 223)
Abū Mūsā Al-Ash‘arī, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“The inhabitants of the Fire will cry so much in the Fire that, if a boat could sail upon their tears, it would sail. When their tears dry up, they will be replaced with blood. Because of what is promised to those who refuse to believe, those who are conscious of Allah should cry.”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’, 1/261)
Yazīd ibn Maysara said that sometimes, when he desired food, the thought of the Fire would come between him and the food. Then his wife and children would begin to cry without knowing what had caused them to cry.
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’, 5/164)
Regarding ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, his wife Fāṭimah bint ‘Abd al-Malik said:
“There are people who pray more and fast more than ‘Umar, but I have never seen anyone who feared Allah more than ‘Umar. When he would perform the ‘Ishā’ prayer, he would remain in his place, supplicating and crying until sleep overcame him. Then he would wake up and again supplicate and cry until sleep overcame him, and he would continue doing this until Fajr.”
(Aḥmad, Az-Zuhd, p. 363)
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz was a man of authority and great responsibility. His crying was connected to his awareness that he would be questioned about the people, their rights, and the duties entrusted to him.
Mālik ibn Dīnār would say while in prostration:
“My Lord, the Lord of Mālik, You distinguish the inhabitants of the Fire from the inhabitants of Paradise; so to which group does Mālik belong?”
Then he would begin to cry.
(Aḥmad, Az-Zuhd, p. 389)
Shaqīq ibn Salamah would supplicate in prostration:
“My Lord, forgive me! My Lord, erase my bad deeds! If You have mercy on me, it is because of Your kindness, and if You punish me, it is because of Your justice!”
Then he would cry so much that he could be heard outside the mosque.
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’, 4/102)
In his words were combined fear and hope: the acknowledgment of his own sins, awareness of Allah’s justice, and hope in His mercy.
Crying itself is not the goal.
These statements should not be read as a competition over who cried the most, nor can a person’s faith be measured by the amount of their tears.
There are people whose hearts are deeply moved, yet whose eyes remain dry. There are also people who cry easily, but quickly return to their old habits.
That is why Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī said that when the eyes cry, the heart should also cry.
The crying of the heart is seen in what remains after the tears: in repentance (tawbah), in correcting what was neglected, in returning the rights of others, in greater kindness toward people, and in taking time more seriously.
Tears shed out of fear of Allah do not have their full meaning if a person continues to wrong others.
Tears while reciting the Qur’an are not sufficient if the Qur’an has no place in one’s behavior.
Crying over wasted time is valuable when it motivates a person to preserve the time that still remains.
Tears can be a mercy, a warning, and a relief. They can be a sign of a living heart, but they are not the final proof of its righteousness.
The most important question is not how much a person cried, but why they cried and what they did afterwards.
The eyes may cry at one moment, but the true value of a tear is shown only when, after it, the heart, the words, or the actions change.
(Central khutbah by the Muslim Religious Leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on June 5, 2026, at the “Association Islamique et Culturelle Afnane” in Esch-sur-Alzette)
