What is the meaning of the noble hadith: “When the son of Adam dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: a continuous charity, or knowledge from which benefit is derived,

The questioner : What is the meaning of the noble hadith: , please inform us, may Allah reward you?

The Shaykh : Its meaning is that when a person dies, his deeds are cut off because he has died, and deeds are only performed in life, except for these three matters, because he is the cause of them: continuous charity, which is ongoing good, such as a man endowing his orchard for the poor or endowing his property for the poor. As long as the poor benefit from this property or benefit from the fruit of this orchard, it is recorded for him, and it is a reward obtained after his death, but he is the cause of its existence.
The second is knowledge from which benefit is derived, by teaching people and guiding them to good and to doing what is right. If people learn and benefit from his knowledge after his death, he receives a share of their reward without anything being deducted from their rewards, because the one who guides to good is like the one who does the good. This is evidence of the blessing of knowledge and its benefit in this world and the Hereafter.
As for the third, it is the righteous child who prays for him after his death, because the child is part of a person’s earnings. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the hadith: because the non-righteous one does not care about himself, so he does not care about his father or mother. In this is an indication that it is very important for a person to raise his children with a righteous upbringing so that they benefit him in his life and after his death. In his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: there is an indication that praying for the father or other relatives is better than a person performing an act of worship to worship Allah and dedicating its reward to them, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: “or a righteous child who prays for him, or fasts for him, or gives charity for him,” even though the context of the hadith is about deeds . If it were recommended for a person to perform deeds for his father after his death, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have specified it. Therefore, a person’s prayer for his parents is better than his glorifying Allah, reciting, praying, or giving charity and dedicating the reward of that to them. A person needs righteous deeds, so let him make the righteous deeds for himself, and let him pray for his parents with what he loves.
His (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: does not mean that if someone other than his child prays for him, he will not benefit. Rather, the prayer of your Muslim brother is beneficial for you, even if he is not a relative of yours. Allah the Exalted said: So Allah described these righteous ones as those who pray for themselves and for their brothers who preceded them in faith, and this includes their living and dead brothers. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that the deceased benefits from the prayer of those who pray for him. So his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying in the hadith: is based on the fact that the righteous child, who is a part of him, is like himself. For this reason he said: making the child’s prayer for his father part of the father’s deeds. Some people have used this hadith as evidence that it is not permissible to dedicate the reward of good deeds to the dead. They said: because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But there is a consideration in this argument, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and did not say: “his deeds are cut off.” If someone other than the father or the son dedicates the reward of a good deed to one of the Muslims, it benefits him. If you performed Hajj on behalf of a person who is not among your fathers or mothers, it benefits him. Likewise, if you performed 'Umrah on his behalf or gave charity on his behalf, it benefits him according to the stronger opinion.

The questioner : May Allah reward you.