What is the ruling on dedicating the reward of righteous deeds to the deceased and others?

Question : The questioner asks: What is the ruling on dedicating the reward of acts of worship, such as tawaf, or prayer, or charity? For example, one says: "O Allah, make the reward of this deed for so-and-so, son of so-and-so"?

Answer : The correct view in my opinion on this issue, which has been much discussed and much argued for and against by the scholars of knowledge, is that it is permissible for a person to perform an act of obedience for a person among the believers, the Muslims. However, this is not among the prescribed matters. That is, it is not prescribed for a person to pray for his parents, it is not prescribed for him to perform tawaf for his parents, and it is not prescribed for him to fast on behalf of his parents, because it has not come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ordered it or encouraged it. Rather, he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
He did not say "a righteous son prays for him," or "fasts for him," or "performs tawaf for him," or "bows for him," but rather he said "prays for him" (makes du'a for him). For this reason, we see that making du'a for the deceased, whether a father, a mother, or anyone else, is better than a person dedicating to him the reward of an act of worship. So, my brother, you are in need of the worship just as the one to whom it is dedicated is in need of it. And start with yourself. If someone asks, "How do you say it is not prescribed, meaning that dedicating acts of nearness and obedience to the parents or others among the Muslims is not prescribed, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed a sheep on behalf of himself and his Ummah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted Sa'd ibn Ubadah to make his orchard for his mother, and likewise a man sought his permission and said, 'My mother died suddenly, and if she had been able to give charity, she would have. May I give charity on her behalf?'"
He said, "Yes." We say that there is a difference between making this one of the prescribed matters required of every person, and saying that this is one of the permissible matters. We say that it is permissible for a person to dedicate whatever he wishes of the reward of acts of worship to his parents or others, but we do not say that this is required of you. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prescribe it for his Ummah as a general rule. There is a difference between this and that. If you want clarification of that, listen to what is established by the hadith regarding the story of the man whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent as a leader of a group. He used to recite for his companions, and they would conclude with "Qul huwa Allahu ahad" (Say: He is Allah, the One). When they returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they informed him of that. He said, "Ask him why he was doing this." They said, "It is a description of Allah, the attribute of the Most Merciful, and I love to recite it." He said, "Inform him that Allah loves him." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved his action, and yet he did not prescribe for his Ummah to conclude their recitation in prayer with "Qul huwa Allahu ahad," nor did he himself conclude it with "Qul huwa Allahu ahad." A student of knowledge should know the difference between the prescribed matter required of every person to do, and the permissible matter which the Shari'ah has allowed but has not required of everyone.
And the student of knowledge should not be hasty in matters, and should know the subtleties and meanings that affect rulings. For some things may appear to a person at first glance to be similar, but upon reflection he sees that there is a difference between them. And in this way, he becomes one of the firmly grounded scholars in knowledge, if he knows the differences and the secrets, and did not