Clarification of some issues regarding funerals, along with the conditions for good deeds reaching the deceased.

The Shaykh : If a father was unable to perform Hajj for a legitimate religious reason, for example, if he was poor and did not have the funds, or if he was ill and could not perform Hajj for whatever reason—there are many reasons—and this father died, it is obligatory for the son to perform Hajj on his behalf in this manner. He must perform Hajj on his behalf, but not in the first case. However, the first father, who was able to perform Hajj but did not, can still perform Hajj as a voluntary act, but he will be held accountable for the obligatory one. This is because our Lord said: He did not purify himself; he did not leave his work and his worldly life for his hereafter to perform Hajj, because he was able to do so financially, in health, and in safety, and so on, yet he did not perform it. The obligation remains... But the righteous son can send him gifts from beyond material things, from his righteous deeds, and these will be recorded as good deeds for him, but these good deeds do not remove the obligatory acts in which he fell short. So now, the deceased has died, we prayed the funeral prayer for him, we supplicated for him with what came in the Shari'ah, and we buried him... This practice of teaching the deceased (ta'leem) is a religious innovation in Islam and has absolutely no basis. But what is in the authentic Sunnah is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did for some of his Companions. He said to those sitting around the grave and participating in the burial: (peace and blessings be upon him) So each of those present should say: "O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, grant him firmness with Your firm word." This may be done by the one digging or by the group accompanying the funeral. It is also from the Sunnah to take three handfuls of soil and throw them on the grave like this, so that he remembers his destination. This is the doer of... and they return to their homes as if there was no deceased. We do not open the door for condolences, we do not sit day and night receiving those who offer condolences as if no one died. Of course, we grieve, and this grief is a natural matter, because when the Master of all mankind, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), lost his son, he said: This grief is natural, but forcing grief, like any forcing in Islam, is detestable, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith about him: My father died, we prayed the funeral prayer for him in the prescribed manner, we buried him in the prescribed manner, we asked for forgiveness and firmness for him, and that is enough. We returned to our home as if our father was not with us. In other words, I have a job to follow up on, I have a profession I work in; I do not sit with my shop closed just to sit for condolences. This is from the innovations. And as came in Sunan Ibn Majah from Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: So there is no specific gathering. If you see someone who has lost a dear one, you console him in the mosque, and your duty with him is finished. You can see him in the mosque, or in the market, or in his place; you can go to his house day and night, there is no harm in that. But if he designates his house, or his neighbor's house, which is spacious, and so on, then all of this is an addition to Islam and something that hinders the interests of Muslims without any mentionable religious benefit. So, the one who died, we prayed the funeral prayer for him, we buried him, and we returned. That is it. There are no three days, no forty days, no annual anniversary, and nothing at all. If his children are righteous, they can give charity on his behalf, there is no harm in that... This is the only thing that benefits the deceased. As for reciting the Qur'an, it does not benefit the deceased anything, except that the reward of the son reaches him, as we said, the son only, whether male or female. So if you keep these facts in mind, you can, on the occasion of your mother's death, do any good in her name between you and your Lord, and that will benefit her. But God forbid, if she was able to perform Hajj and did not, we return to the previous discussion: it does not benefit her for you or anyone else to perform Hajj on her behalf, but a voluntary Hajj is like a Hajj with me, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. All of this is from the righteous deeds that can benefit you as well as your father. As for removing, for example, in our region in Syria, there may be something here called "removing the prayer," meaning a poor father lived for sixty years, less or more, and did not pray to Allah. Some claimants of knowledge do their calculations: he is sixty years old, you are his son, usually a young man is fifteen, so we subtract fifteen from sixty, leaving forty-five. We multiply that by three hundred and sixty-five days, and we multiply the result by five prayers every day, and it comes out to thousands and thousands. For every prayer, a mudd of wheat... The important thing is the story of Satan, which you know: he wants nothing from you except that you give him from the wheat you have in your country, with multiplication... This was not enough for these people to know that no matter how much money a person has, he cannot pay the expiation for all these prayers. So what do they do? This ignorant person has gold dinars; he collects them, puts them in a bag, gathers the poor and the needy, and plays on their minds, saying, "We want to distribute to you a charity, a bag full of jewels, full of gold, to correspond to all the prayers." You accepted this expiation, but there are people who reject it and do not take it, and so on from one to another, so they see the debt of the one who abandoned prayer... This is the one who abandoned prayer. Therefore, there is no way to benefit the parents after they die except through the good deeds of the righteous son. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This hadith meets with the verse: Where there is no water, you draw it at your own expense. As long as this water is drunk by humans, and even animals, these are ongoing charities for the deceased for whom you did this with the intention, not a general intention for your father or mother, because you are from their earnings, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Therefore, when a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about his father, saying, "O Messenger of Allah, he is seizing my wealth," he said: Therefore, the needy parent has the right to take from his son's wealth, even against his will, because it is all from his father's earnings, and his wealth is all from his father's earnings. Similarly, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in this authentic hadith: From this, the importance of parents' attention to raising their children becomes apparent, because they are the fruit of their efforts in this worldly life. If they raise them well, they will be alive by reason of their righteous deeds. The lack of attention today by most fathers and mothers in raising their children is due to Western imitation that has dominated Muslims, where one raises a son or two and does not think of earning from them after their death; on the contrary, he thinks of earning from them before their death, and then lives in comfort. As you know, the European system, for example, does not like many offspring; the wife and two children, and as I say, their fifth is their dog, or their sixth is their dog. Whereas the Muslim, Allah is the Greatest, if Muslims knew their religion, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What is the virtue of raising children? If they live and grow up, every time they say "La ilaha illa Allah," good deeds are recorded for the parents. Every time they pray two rak'ahs, likewise. Every time they give charity, likewise. And so on, like a saw going up and down, continuous charities for the parents. And the righteous who pay attention to raising their children and make them righteous, if they die, they do not die, because they receive continuous gifts. But naturally, any of the righteous will fast, at least the obligatory fasts. These obligatory fasts have good deeds recorded from them for the parents. As for the parents who died, they do not receive these good deeds; may Allah help them. These good deeds are voluntary and do not benefit them. As for his own deeds, for example, if he performed the obligatory acts and has no voluntary acts, the voluntary acts come from the son or the daughter, meaning it is not important whether male or female, as long as they are righteous. Generally, I have lengthened the explanation for you, perhaps more than necessary, but I...

The questioner : Two questions
The Shaykh: I think I answered you