Short answer
Yes. Letting relatives, friends and the community know about a death and the time of the janazah is allowed and good, so more people pray. The Prophet ﷺ announced the death of the Negus on the day he died. What is disliked is the pre-Islamic style of announcing, with wailing and boasting about the dead.
Informing people of a death so they can attend the janazah is permitted and good. The forbidden na'y is the pre-Islamic custom of crying out the dead person's deeds in the streets with wailing and pride.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Families often hesitate to post about a death, wondering whether it is proper. It is. The janazah is a communal duty, and the more people who know, the more pray for the dead and support the family. The four schools agree.
The Prophet ﷺ announced the death of the Negus to the Companions on the day he died, and led them out to pray. When a person who used to sweep the mosque died and was buried without him being told, he asked why they had not informed him, then went and prayed at the grave.
- Messages to family and friends, and a notice from the mosque, are good.
- A short post on social media or in a community group with the time and place of the janazah is fine.
- An obituary that tells the truth kindly is fine.
- Asking people to make dua for the person and to forgive any wrong they did is good.
- Avoid long lists of praise that exaggerate, and words of complaint against Allah's decree.
- Avoid sharing photos of the body.
- Avoid announcing debts or private matters in public. Settle them quietly.
A simple announcement could read: Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. Our father passed away this morning. The janazah will be at our local mosque after Zuhr, followed by burial at the Muslim cemetery. Please remember him in your duas. See Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un and what to do after a death.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:156
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌۭ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ ﴿١٥٦﴾
Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return."
This is the phrase that opens a Muslim death announcement.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1245
Sahih... نعى النجاشي في اليوم الذي مات فيه ...
"He announced the death of the Negus on the day he died."
The Prophet ﷺ himself announced a death so people would pray.
Sahih al-Bukhari 458
Sahih... أفلا كنتم آذنتموني به دلوني على قبره ...
"Why did you not inform me? Show me his grave."
He wanted to be told of deaths so he could pray.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Janazah. Informing people of a death is permitted.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.