All praise is due to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and all those who follow his guidance. To proceed:
It has become customary in many Muslim countries in this era to decree a period of mourning for the death of kings and leaders, lasting three days or more or less, with government offices being closed and flags being lowered.
Undoubtedly, this practice is contrary to Islamic law, and it resembles the actions of the enemies of Islam. Authentic hadiths from the Prophet Muhammad May God bless him and grant him peace prohibit mourning and warn against it, except in the case of a wife mourning for her husband, where she mourns for four months and ten days. Furthermore, the Prophet May God bless him and grant him peace granted a special concession for women to mourn a close relative for no more than three days. Any other form of mourning is not permissible in Islamic law, nor does the complete Sharia law authorize it for a king, leader, or anyone else.
During the Prophet’s May God bless him and grant him peace lifetime, his son Ibrahim and his three daughters passed away, as well as other prominent figures, yet he did not mourn for them, peace and blessings be upon him. During his time, the commanders of the army at the Battle of Mu'tah—Zaid ibn Haritha, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and Abdullah ibn Rawaha (may Allah be pleased with them)—were killed, yet he did not mourn them.
Then, the Prophet May God bless him and grant him peace himself passed away, and he was the most honored of all creation, the best of the prophets, and the leader of all humankind. His death was the greatest of all losses, but the Companions did not mourn him (may Allah be pleased with them).
Afterward, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), the best of the Companions and the most honorable after the prophets, passed away, and they did not mourn him. Then Umar, Uthman, and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) were killed, and they were the best of creation after the prophets and Abu Bakr, but they were not mourned. Similarly, all the Companions passed away without the Followers mourning them.
Likewise, the leaders of Islam and the leaders of guidance from the scholars of the Followers and those who came after them passed away without Muslims mourning them—such as Saeed ibn al-Musayyib, Ali ibn al-Husayn Zain al-Abidin, his son Muhammad ibn Ali, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, al-Zuhri, Imam Abu Hanifa and his two companions, Imam Malik ibn Anas, al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, Imam al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, and other leaders of knowledge and guidance.
If it were something good, the righteous predecessors would have done it first. All goodness lies in following them, and all evil lies in opposing them. The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah May God bless him and grant him peace, as we previously mentioned, indicates that what our righteous predecessors did by abstaining from mourning for anyone other than spouses is the truth and correct. What people do today by mourning kings and leaders is against the purified Sunnah and results in numerous harms, suspending public interests and imitating the enemies of Islam.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon the leaders and prominent individuals of Muslims to abandon this mourning and follow the example of our righteous predecessors among the Companions and those who followed their path.
It is the duty of the scholars to alert people to this and inform them, fulfilling the duty of giving advice and cooperating in righteousness and piety. Out of the obligation to offer advice to Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of Muslims, and their common folk, I felt compelled to write this brief message.
I ask Allah to grant the leaders and common folk of Muslims success in all that pleases Him, adherence to His law, and caution against anything that opposes it. May He correct our hearts and actions. Indeed, He is All-Hearing of supplications, Near to responding.
And may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.