What is the ruling on instructing the deceased to recite the testimony of faith after burial?

The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh- May Allah preserve you - , what is the ruling on instructing the deceased to recite the testimony of faith after burial?

The Shaykh: This practice of instruction, which is done in some Islamic countries, is based on a hadith that is not authentic in any way. How many of his Companions, both martyrs and others, did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bury, and yet it is not reported in a single hadith that he (peace be upon him) did this. Even if it were a weak hadith that after burying the deceased, he (peace be upon him) would instruct him with this well-known instruction: "When they come to you and ask you, 'Who is your Lord?' say, 'My Lord is Allah,' and so on," this did not come from his (peace be upon him) actions at all. It only came in a hadith from Abu Umamah or Thawban - I am uncertain right now - in "Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir" by al-Tabarani, and there is weakness in its chain, which is mentioned in its proper place.
This instruction is not permissible to adopt as a Sunnah; because the practice of the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not follow it... And it is amazing that the prescribed instruction does not receive their attention as they pay attention to this non-prescribed instruction. I mean by the prescribed instruction: what came in the authentic hadith from more than one path; namely his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: . Instruct your dying ones: meaning those who are facing death and on the verge of death, while they are still in the bonds of life; because this instruction may benefit them; because it is established from the Messenger (peace be upon him) that he said: , so if the grace of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is so vast that He accepts the repentance of His servants or a servant before the soul reaches the throat; then at that time, it is hoped and expected that the dying person, if told: "Say: There is no god but Allah," will respond to this saying and this command, and his last words will be the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and that will be good news for him regarding the goodness of his ending; and this instruction is the prescribed one. Yes?

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: You have spoken well, so this instruction is the prescribed one, meaning: those who are facing death . As for instructing the deceased who has been placed in his grave, it does not benefit him in any way; because his term has ended; if he was righteous, then righteous, and if he was wicked, then wicked, and this innovated instruction does not benefit him. Rather, I say: this instruction resembles a type of instruction known among people in this time, namely students in schools. If one of them instructs his neighbor during an exam, it may be the cause of his failure; because he received what he should not have received; because what he was instructed was something he should have reached through his own effort, toil, and hardship, whereas benefiting from the efforts of others, he will not benefit. Similarly, this deceased who was buried in his grave; instructing him does not benefit him in any way at all.
- or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said - .
On this occasion, regarding instructing the dying person: some scholars say - and in my opinion, their saying resembles a philosophy that has no basis in the Shari'ah, nor in reason - they say: it is not befitting for the one instructing the person facing death to say to him: "Say: There is no god but Allah," but rather he should remember Allah and say: "There is no god but Allah, there is no god but Allah," as a recitation for the dying person so that he may become aware from his heedlessness in that critical hour, and say: "There is no god but Allah." Why does this group say that it is not befitting to command him to say "There is no god but Allah"? Out of fear that he will refuse the command, and the outcome of his command will be death in a state of disbelief, may Allah protect us from that. This is what they claimed!
But I say: it has come in the authentic Sunnah what clarifies that his (peace be upon him) saying: means only commanding the dying person to say: "There is no god but Allah." This came in "Sahih al-Bukhari" when a Jewish boy who served the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell ill, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited him and found him facing death, so he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): This is the instruction, and with this we should take the benefit, which is: that the sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) must be interpreted by his (peace and blessings be upon him) actions, so the verbal Sunnah is clarified by the practical Sunnah. It was said - as you heard just now - that he says in the presence of the dying person: "There is no god but Allah," and does not address him by saying: "Say: There is no god but Allah." So the practical Sunnah came clarifying that the intended meaning of: is only that he is commanded to say: "There is no god but Allah." This is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he visited this Jewish boy who served the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was a Jew, the son of a Jew, but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most noble of people in character. Even if this boy was a Jew, he visited him, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) seized every opportunity to convey knowledge and religion to people, so he seized this opportunity and said to him: And the boy's Jewish father was over the boy, so the boy looked at his father as if saying to him: What do you think? Here you are hearing Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) say to me: "Say: There is no god but Allah?" So the wicked one - and this is the nature of disbelievers as He (the Exalted) said: - he knows that the call of the Messenger is the truth, but as He (the Exalted) also said in the other verse: , when the Jew saw his son on the path of death, and that he has no life after that, he said to him: "Obey Abu al-Qasim." Abu al-Qasim said to the son of the Jew: "Say: There is no god but Allah," and the Jewish father disbelieves in "There is no god but Allah," but when he saw his son that he was on the path of death and there is no salvation for him if he dies a Jew, he said to him: "Obey Abu al-Qasim." As for him, he remains disobedient to Abu al-Qasim out of stubbornness, disbelief, and misguidance.
So the boy said: "I testify that there is no god but Allah," and his soul departed, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So this is the prescribed instruction: to say to the dying person: "Say: There is no god but Allah." As for instructing him while he is in his grave, it does not benefit him in any way, whether at his burial or after his burial, and he is dead, unable to move and does not hear what is instructed to him. Even if he heard, he would not respond; because he has departed with what he accumulated in this world of faith and righteous deeds, or disbelief and wicked deeds.
I ask Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) to grant us success to understand Islam with a correct understanding, and to grant us righteous deeds. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive, and all praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds.