Lulua
09-02-2002, 16:07
Assalaamu alaikum ya muslimeen.
Greetings and good day to all.
In reference to the recent thread and discussion on prayer for the dead, I would like to relay this question-answer section of a newspaper I have recently viewed myself. Perhaps it will also shed some light on this matter, inshaAllah.
Lulua.
================================================== ===============HELPING DECEASED PEOPLE
From: Islam in Perspective Section
Arab News
Friday, February 8
Q. My father is dead. What can I do to help him. Can I say prayers for him or read the Quran? Do I give charity on his behalf or perform the Umrah or pilgrimage on his behalf? Can I read the Quran at his grave? People are giving all sorts of answers. Please answer because I have heard that after death only 3 things continue to benefit the dead: good children, beneficial knowledge and lasting charity.
A. M. Ladha
A. What the reader finishes with is absolutely correct. The Prophet(SAAW) says: ‘When a human being dies, all his actions come to an end except in one of three ways: a continuing act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge and a dutiful child who prays for him.’ This is how a person may increase his own reward after his death. If he arranges some act of charity which continues after his death, he would receive a reward for that. Such an act may take the form of an endowment, or providing a facility for the poor that lasts for a long time after his death. Useful knowledge also has this continuing feature. Hence, the Prophet(SAAW) mentions it in the three ways. Dutiful children are also a means of earning reward after one’s death. It is the parent who brings up the child and impress on him the need to be good and dutiful. Hence, although the child is praying for the parent, the action is in a way a reward for the parent’s own action.
But other people could benefit their beloved ones who have already departed from this life in other ways. Generally speaking, any act of worship which could be done by proxy may be offered on behalf of the deceased. This is mainly true in the case of the pilgrimage and the Umrah. The Prophet(SAAW) was asked by one of his companions if she could offer the pilgrimage on the behalf of her deceased father. He asked her: ‘Would you have paid his debt, had he left an unsettled debt?’ When she answered in the affirmative, the Prophet(SAAW) said: ‘A debt owed to God has a greater claim for settlement.’
The same applies to zakah and charitable donation. You may pay any zakah your father might have left unpaid. And you may pay any charity and ask God to credit the reward to your deceased father or mother. This would give them the reward and you will earn a reward from God for being both charitable and dutiful. You may also read the Quran on your parent’s behalf for your recitation to your parents, or either of them.
Acts of worship that cannot be done by proxy may not be offered on behalf of a deceased person. According to most scholars, prayer and fasting cannot be done by proxy.
Greetings and good day to all.
In reference to the recent thread and discussion on prayer for the dead, I would like to relay this question-answer section of a newspaper I have recently viewed myself. Perhaps it will also shed some light on this matter, inshaAllah.
Lulua.
================================================== ===============HELPING DECEASED PEOPLE
From: Islam in Perspective Section
Arab News
Friday, February 8
Q. My father is dead. What can I do to help him. Can I say prayers for him or read the Quran? Do I give charity on his behalf or perform the Umrah or pilgrimage on his behalf? Can I read the Quran at his grave? People are giving all sorts of answers. Please answer because I have heard that after death only 3 things continue to benefit the dead: good children, beneficial knowledge and lasting charity.
A. M. Ladha
A. What the reader finishes with is absolutely correct. The Prophet(SAAW) says: ‘When a human being dies, all his actions come to an end except in one of three ways: a continuing act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge and a dutiful child who prays for him.’ This is how a person may increase his own reward after his death. If he arranges some act of charity which continues after his death, he would receive a reward for that. Such an act may take the form of an endowment, or providing a facility for the poor that lasts for a long time after his death. Useful knowledge also has this continuing feature. Hence, the Prophet(SAAW) mentions it in the three ways. Dutiful children are also a means of earning reward after one’s death. It is the parent who brings up the child and impress on him the need to be good and dutiful. Hence, although the child is praying for the parent, the action is in a way a reward for the parent’s own action.
But other people could benefit their beloved ones who have already departed from this life in other ways. Generally speaking, any act of worship which could be done by proxy may be offered on behalf of the deceased. This is mainly true in the case of the pilgrimage and the Umrah. The Prophet(SAAW) was asked by one of his companions if she could offer the pilgrimage on the behalf of her deceased father. He asked her: ‘Would you have paid his debt, had he left an unsettled debt?’ When she answered in the affirmative, the Prophet(SAAW) said: ‘A debt owed to God has a greater claim for settlement.’
The same applies to zakah and charitable donation. You may pay any zakah your father might have left unpaid. And you may pay any charity and ask God to credit the reward to your deceased father or mother. This would give them the reward and you will earn a reward from God for being both charitable and dutiful. You may also read the Quran on your parent’s behalf for your recitation to your parents, or either of them.
Acts of worship that cannot be done by proxy may not be offered on behalf of a deceased person. According to most scholars, prayer and fasting cannot be done by proxy.