You are asking about the sacrifice for the grave, meaning the animal slaughtered when a person dies. Does it have any validity, or does it benefit the deceased?

Question:
You are asking about the sacrifice for the grave, meaning the animal slaughtered when a person dies. Does it have any validity, or does it benefit the deceased? Some of the shaykhs in our city of Aleppo say that it does not benefit the deceased, nor does it advance or delay anything. Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, the deceased is benefited only by the righteous deeds he performed before his death, and also by the deeds of the living for which there is established evidence, such as supplicating for him, seeking forgiveness for him, giving charity on his behalf, or performing Hajj and 'Umrah on his behalf. These are deeds whose reward reaches the deceased, because there is evidence for this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the animal slaughtered after his death, and making that a custom or a followed sunnah, this has no basis and no evidence for it. It is as this shaykh said, may Allah reward him with good, that it does not benefit the deceased, nor does it advance or delay anything. Adhering to it upon the death of every deceased person, or at a specific time, is considered a bid'ah (religious innovation) for which Allah has not sent down any authority. This is due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) .
It is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he legislated this sacrifice for the deceased after his death. Rather, he legislated for his Ummah (the Muslim community) charity on behalf of the deceased, supplication for them, Hajj on their behalf, and 'Umrah on their behalf. This is either an obligatory act, if they had not performed the obligatory act, or a voluntary act, if they had performed the obligatory act. This is what is established by evidence to benefit the deceased from the deeds of the living.