1774/1 - Zaynab bint Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her and her father) reported: “I went to Umm Habībah (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet’s wife, when her father Abu Sufyān ibn Harb died. Umm Habībah asked for a yellow colored perfume or something else like it and applied it to a slave-girl and then put it on her own cheeks and said: ‘By Allah, I have no need for perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say on the pulpit: “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased person for more than three nights, except for her husband, four months and ten days.”’” Zaynab added: “Then I visited Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) when her brother died. She asked for perfume and applied it and then said: ‘By Allah, I do not feel any need for perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) saying on the pulpit: “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased person for more than three [days], except for her husband, four months and ten days.”’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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A mourning woman gives up adornment, including the use of perfume and the like.
1) It is prohibited for a woman to mourn the death of someone related to her, such as her brother and son, more than three days. An exception is her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days.
2) The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to comply with the Prophet’s Sunnah and apply it, even if it ran counter to their personal inclinations or common traditions. So, let us be keen to apply the Sunnah in our words and deeds, which is a sign of true faith.