Is it prescribed to dedicate the reward of what one recites from the Qur'an to one's fathers and grandfathers, and others?

The questioner : Reciting the Qur'an is righteous work.

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : Reciting the Qur'an is righteous work.

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.

The questioner : A person recites the Qur'an and dedicates the reward of his recitation to his father and his mother; what does that mean?

The Shaykh : Weigh this with the previous scale: is this a supplication? Did such a supplication come from the Salaf, where one dedicates the reward of what he recited from the Qur'an to his parents, his teachers, and the Muslims in general, with a long and broad formula? Of course, this has no basis. However, reciting the Qur'an, praying, and every act of worship a son performs, his parents have a great share in that, considering that they were the cause of the existence of this righteous son, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated in the well-known hadith in Sahih Muslim . As for reciting the Qur'an for the souls of the believers in general and making supplication for them, that was certainly not the practice of the Salaf. Although Imam al-Shafi'i stated, as transmitted by Ibn Kathir and others, citing the saying of Allah the Exalted , that a person does not receive the reward of another's work except from one who was the cause of the righteous work, and among them are children, some of the later scholars, such as al-Nawawi and others, interpreted this and said: if one recites the Qur'an, for example, and supplicates that our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, conveys the reward of this recitation to the scholars of the Muslims and to the Muslims in general, it is hoped, they say, that Allah will accept his supplication. They intend by this to reconcile their correct understanding of the verse with the attempt to benefit the Muslims in general, while believing that a person's righteous work is confined to himself, by turning the matter into a supplication. We do not give much weight to such opinions because we know that it was not the practice of the Salaf. Our knowledge of this is based on the fact that no one has mentioned that any of the Companions used to do that. In contrast to this issue, Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), when he completed a recitation of the Qur'an, would gather his family and make supplication. We cannot deny this and say that it was the practice of a noble Companion. But what was mentioned earlier regarding the dedication of the reward of what was recited has not been transmitted from any of the Salaf. The rule in that is: if it had occurred, it would have been transmitted; therefore, the lack of transmission necessitates that it did not occur. And to anyone who argues about this, we say to him: bring your proof if you are truthful.