What is the ruling on one who prepares food for his deceased parents in what is called the khatmah, and has made it a habit to do so?

The questioner : Peace be upon you. Peace be upon you. Shaykh Muhammad. This is it. Peace be upon you. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy. If you please, I have two questions with me. The first question says, meaning, some people—I am Mahir Sa'idi from Egypt—says that some people in Upper Egypt, during the month of Ramadan, perform a mercy for their parents, whether it is their mother or their father who have passed away. They bring a person to recite some verses from the Noble Qur'an for them, and invite some friends and neighbors to eat the Maghrib meal in the month of Ramadan. This has become an annual custom for them, and it is known as the khatmah. So what is Your Eminence’s opinion on the first question?

The Shaykh : It has affected you. Greet him for me and tell him not to do this, because this is not the way of the righteous Salaf, nor did the Companions do it, nor those who followed them in excellence, nor the Imams. Let him abandon this and return from his action. Let him make du'a for his parents in his prayer and in his late-night prayers, and that is sufficient for him. And what is it? It is sufficient for him.

The questioner : Meaning, he recites, he does not make du'a, he does not do this; it is considered a bid'ah (religious innovation).

The Shaykh : He does not do this because it is a bid'ah, and the reciter he brings to recite for a fee has no reward, and neither his mother nor his father benefits from this recitation.

The questioner : O Shaykh Muhammad, he takes a fee; sometimes he takes, for example, a specific amount.

The Shaykh : Absolutely not, the entire process.