Is it permissible for a man to pray voluntarily and dedicate its reward to his deceased brother?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for me to pray voluntarily and dedicate its reward to my deceased brother? I read in an Egyptian religious newspaper regarding this question that although prayer is among the bodily acts of worship that do not accept delegation, some scholars hold that a person may pray voluntarily and dedicate its reward to the deceased. It was reported from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that he said: "The deceased benefits from all bodily acts of worship, such as prayer, fasting, and recitation, just as he benefits from financial acts of worship, such as zakah and charity, and the like." Is what I read correct or not?
The Shaykh : The correct view in this matter is what you read: that all acts of worship, whether bodily or financial, reach the deceased and he benefits from them and their reward, on the condition that the deceased is a Muslim. As for the disbeliever, he does not benefit from anything. However, we say that the best is to make du'a' for the deceased and to keep the righteous deeds for yourself, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 38.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1631 and he did not say "or a righteous son who fasts for him, or prays for him, or performs Hajj for him, or the like." If something were better than du'a', the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have specified it. If the deeds were better than du'a', he would have specified them, because they are actual deeds, and their exclusion would be a connected exception to his statement "when a servant dies, his deeds are cut off." If prayer, for example, were better, he would have said "his deeds are cut off except for three: a continuous charity, or knowledge that benefits after him, or a righteous deed from his son, for example."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When he said:Sahih Muslim 1631, it became known that du'a' is better than dedicating acts of nearness to the deceased. However, if one does dedicate them, the deceased benefits from them, and the one who dedicates them gets the reward of doing good to this deceased, on the condition that the deceased died upon Islam.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He says in the second question.
The Shaykh : The correct view in this matter is what you read: that all acts of worship, whether bodily or financial, reach the deceased and he benefits from them and their reward, on the condition that the deceased is a Muslim. As for the disbeliever, he does not benefit from anything. However, we say that the best is to make du'a' for the deceased and to keep the righteous deeds for yourself, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When a person dies, all action is cut off for him with the exception of three things: sadaqa which continues, knowledge which benefits, or a righteous child who makes supplication for him.
إذا مات العبد انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث صدقة جارية أو علم ينتفع به من بعده أو ولد صالح يدعو لهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
or a pious child, who prays for him
أو ولد صالح يدعو لهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When he said:
or a pious child, who prays for him
أو ولد صالح يدعو لهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He says in the second question.