Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (And that man has nothing but what he strives for)
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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (And that man has nothing but what he strives for)]
The Exalted said: [Surat al-Najm: 39] Some scholars have cited this as evidence that a deceased person cannot benefit from the reward of another person's deeds;Because Allah said: [Surat al-Najm: 39] Consequently, if you were to pray two rak'ahs for Zayd while he is dead, or fast a day for Zayd while he is dead, it would not benefit him,Due to the generality of his saying: [Surat al-Najm: 39] .
When they are presented with the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (Whoever dies with fasting still owed, his guardian should fast on his behalf), they say: This applies to an obligatory duty;Because he said: (and he has fasting owed to him), not voluntary worship.
And when they are presented with a man who said: (O Messenger of Allah! My wife has passed away, and I think that if she had been able to speak, she would have given charity. May I give charity on her behalf?He said: Yes) They say: This is an exception established by explicit text, and we have no right to contradict the text, and a general ruling may be restricted in its application to specific cases by a contrary ruling.
And when they are presented with the statement of Sa'd ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding his date harvest -Meaning: regarding the dates in his palm grove that are ripening - that he wanted to make it charity for his mother, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) permitted it.
They said: This is established by explicit text, and what is established by explicit text cannot be rejected; because the texts of the Islamic Shari'ah came to restrict general rulings,Meaning: by excluding some of the instances of the general ruling and assigning them a ruling contrary to the general ruling.
And on this basis, we say: A person cannot benefit from the deeds of another, whether alive or dead, except in cases where the Sunnah has come down, and there is no doubt that this view has a strong perspective,But Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: meaning that any act of devotion one performs and dedicates its reward to a deceased or living Muslim, that benefits him,And he said: that what occurred were specific cases,Meaning: that a man had a specific situation and he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and he permitted it. What is the specific case?The man who said: May I give charity on behalf of my mother, and Sa'd ibn Ubadah,He said: these people asked the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) and he permitted it. So if the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) permitted a type of worship, even if it is financial, that indicates the permissibility of all types of worship.
And they also said: Fasting is not a financial act of worship,And with that, he said: (Whoever dies with fasting owed, his guardian fasts on his behalf).
And if it is answered that this is for an obligatory duty, and an obligatory duty is binding, it is like a debt, and if someone else pays off a debt on behalf of the debtor, it is sufficient.
And in any case, even if we adopt the view of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him): that any act of devotion a person performs and dedicates to a Muslim, the practice of people today is contrary to the guidance of the Salaf, because people today are found dedicating many righteous deeds to the dead, they perform 'Umrah for the deceased constantly, they fast voluntarily for them constantly, they sacrifice for them constantly and do not sacrifice for themselves, all of this is not the practice of the Salaf. The Salaf follow the guidance of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), and the general guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he said: (When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: ongoing charity, or knowledge that benefits, or a righteous child who prays for him) Increase your supplication for the deceased,But the fact that every time you recite tasbih: O Allah, make its reward for my father or my mother,Every time you perform 'Umrah you say: O Allah, make its reward for my father or my mother or my grandfather or my maternal uncle or my paternal uncle, this is not correct.
You are in need of deeds just as they are in need of deeds, so do not make your deeds for them. Make for them what the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) guided you to, which is supplication. As for deeds, reserve them for yourself.
The Exalted said:
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىAnd that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىAnd that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىWhen they are presented with the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (Whoever dies with fasting still owed, his guardian should fast on his behalf), they say: This applies to an obligatory duty;Because he said: (and he has fasting owed to him), not voluntary worship.
And when they are presented with a man who said: (O Messenger of Allah! My wife has passed away, and I think that if she had been able to speak, she would have given charity. May I give charity on her behalf?He said: Yes) They say: This is an exception established by explicit text, and we have no right to contradict the text, and a general ruling may be restricted in its application to specific cases by a contrary ruling.
And when they are presented with the statement of Sa'd ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding his date harvest -Meaning: regarding the dates in his palm grove that are ripening - that he wanted to make it charity for his mother, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) permitted it.
They said: This is established by explicit text, and what is established by explicit text cannot be rejected; because the texts of the Islamic Shari'ah came to restrict general rulings,Meaning: by excluding some of the instances of the general ruling and assigning them a ruling contrary to the general ruling.
And on this basis, we say: A person cannot benefit from the deeds of another, whether alive or dead, except in cases where the Sunnah has come down, and there is no doubt that this view has a strong perspective,But Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: meaning that any act of devotion one performs and dedicates its reward to a deceased or living Muslim, that benefits him,And he said: that what occurred were specific cases,Meaning: that a man had a specific situation and he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and he permitted it. What is the specific case?The man who said: May I give charity on behalf of my mother, and Sa'd ibn Ubadah,He said: these people asked the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) and he permitted it. So if the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) permitted a type of worship, even if it is financial, that indicates the permissibility of all types of worship.
And they also said: Fasting is not a financial act of worship,And with that, he said: (Whoever dies with fasting owed, his guardian fasts on his behalf).
And if it is answered that this is for an obligatory duty, and an obligatory duty is binding, it is like a debt, and if someone else pays off a debt on behalf of the debtor, it is sufficient.
And in any case, even if we adopt the view of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him): that any act of devotion a person performs and dedicates to a Muslim, the practice of people today is contrary to the guidance of the Salaf, because people today are found dedicating many righteous deeds to the dead, they perform 'Umrah for the deceased constantly, they fast voluntarily for them constantly, they sacrifice for them constantly and do not sacrifice for themselves, all of this is not the practice of the Salaf. The Salaf follow the guidance of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), and the general guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he said: (When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: ongoing charity, or knowledge that benefits, or a righteous child who prays for him) Increase your supplication for the deceased,But the fact that every time you recite tasbih: O Allah, make its reward for my father or my mother,Every time you perform 'Umrah you say: O Allah, make its reward for my father or my mother or my grandfather or my maternal uncle or my paternal uncle, this is not correct.
You are in need of deeds just as they are in need of deeds, so do not make your deeds for them. Make for them what the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) guided you to, which is supplication. As for deeds, reserve them for yourself.