Sayyiduna Usama bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that one of the daughters of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) (Sayyidah Zainab, may Allah be pleased with her) sent word to him that a son of hers was near death, so please come. He sent his greetings to her and said:“To Allah belongs whatever He takes, and to Him belongs whatever He gives, and everything has an appointed term with Him. So be patient and hope for reward from Allah.”Then Sayyidah Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) sent again, adjuring him by oath to come to her. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up to go, and with him were Sa’d bin ‘Ubadah, Mu’adh bin Jabal, Ubayy bin Ka’b, Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with them), and many other Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). The child was brought before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he was in the throes of death, making a sound like an old waterskin (from which comes a rattling sound when water strikes it from inside; similarly, the child’s throat was making a sound at the time of death). Seeing this, tears flowed from the eyes of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed,“O Messenger of Allah, what is this weeping?”He replied,“This is mercy which Allah has placed in the hearts of His (righteous) servants, and Allah shows mercy to those of His servants who are merciful to others.”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) fell ill. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went to visit him along with Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, and Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with them). When he entered, he found him surrounded by his attendants. He asked,“Has he passed away?”The people replied,“No, O Messenger of Allah!”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), seeing the severity of his illness, began to weep. When the people saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) weeping, they all began to weep as well. Then he said,“Listen, Allah does not punish for the tears of the eyes nor for the grief of the heart, but He punishes because of this”—and he pointed to his tongue—“or He shows mercy because of it. And the deceased is punished because of the lamentation and wailing of his family.”