Does reciting the Qur'an over graves benefit the deceased, and do the living hear it?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Does reciting the Qur'an over graves benefit the deceased? And do the living hear it? I ask for your guidance.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
Reciting the Qur'an over graves is not from the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the guidance of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Therefore, it is a religious innovation (bid'ah). The best place to recite the Qur'an is in the houses of Allah, the mosques, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 2699a.
As for reciting over graves, it is not from the Sunnah but is from religious innovation (bid'ah). As for whether it benefits the deceased, it does not benefit the deceased, because a religious innovation (bid'ah) does not benefit its doer or anyone else. However, the scholars differed on whether, if a reciter recites the Qur'an not in the manner of innovation and intends the reward for a specific person, does this reward reach him or not?
Some scholars said: The original rule in acts of worship is that they are based on specific texts, and nothing reaches the deceased except what the Sunnah indicates reaches him, such as charity, for example, or making up obligatory fasting, or making up obligatory Hajj. Anything else for which the Sunnah has not come does not benefit the deceased and does not reach him. They cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Najm 53:39].
They said: This verse is general in that a person has only what he strives for, except for what the Sunnah has brought. Thus, what the Sunnah has brought specifies this generality, and we restrict ourselves to it. There is no doubt that this opinion, as you heard, is a strong opinion due to the strength of its reasoning and the clarity of its evidence.
Some scholars said: If a person performs an act of obedience and intends its reward for a specific Muslim, then it benefits him, whether this act of worship is something the Sunnah has come with regarding the permissibility of dedicating its reward to a specific person or not.
They said: What the Sunnah has brought are specific cases and do not have a general scope, nor do they prevent analogizing similar cases to them. So, if the Sunnah has come with the permissibility of dedicating the reward of deeds to a specific person in certain matters, then other similar matters are the same. This is the well-known position of the school of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). The Hanbali jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned a general statement on this, saying: Any act of devotion he performs and dedicates its reward to a deceased or living Muslim benefits him.
Despite this, I say: It is better than all of this for a person to make supplication for the deceased. His supplication for the deceased is better than charity for him, better than fasting for him, better than 'Umrah for him, better than Tawaf for him, and better than any righteous deed he dedicates to the deceased. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1631 Here, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1631 and did not say: "or a righteous son who fasts for him, or prays for him, or recites for him, or gives charity for him." Rather, he said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1376Sahih (Darussalam) So he shifted from mentioning deeds to supplication, even though the context of the hadith is the mention of deeds. His shifting from mentioning deeds, although the context requires it, indicates that supplication is better than dedicating the reward of deeds to the deceased.
Therefore, I advise my brothers to make righteous deeds for themselves, because they are the ones in need of these deeds, and to bestow upon their deceased brothers supplication, for this is the best, most beneficial, and most useful.
And as for the sayingThe questioner : And does the deceased hear, meaning the recitation of the living or their supplication for him or the like of that?
This is a matter in which the scholars differed. Some said: The deceased in his grave does not hear anything of what is said to him, not even the greeting to him; he does not hear it nor return it. They weakened the hadith in which it is said: even though Ibn 'Abd al-Barr authenticated this hadith, as Ibn al-Qayyim reported from him in his book "The Spirit" and approved it.
I say: Some scholars said: The deceased does not hear anything except what the Sunnah indicates, such as the standing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) over the killed polytheists who were killed at Badr and thrown into a well there. He stood over them and began calling them by their names and their fathers' names:Sunan an-Nasa'i 2074Sahih (Darussalam), so they said: O Messenger of Allah! How can you speak to people who have become corpses? He said: Sunan an-Nasa'i 2075Sahih (Darussalam) So he informed that they hear, but they do not respond.
Similarly, what came in the authentic hadith: He said: Sahih al-Bukhari 1338 They said: What the Sunnah has brought, we must affirm according to its requirement. As for what the Sunnah has not brought, the original rule is that the dead do not hear.
However, there is a consideration in citing this verse as evidence, because his saying:[An-Naml 27:80] means by that the dead of hearts whose hearts are covered from what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) calls them to. The evidence is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not go out to the graveyards to call the people of the graveyards to his religion, but he used to call a group of polytheists, but they, refuge in Allah, are dead of hearts and do not hear. This is the meaning of the verse.
Therefore, we say: What the Sunnah has brought regarding the hearing of the dead, we must believe in it. And what the Sunnah has not brought, our position is to wait, and we say: Allah knows best. But supplication for the deceased is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed in his saying:Sahih Muslim 1631.
Similarly, the saying of the believers who came after the Companions:[Al-Hashr 59:10] This is what is prescribed regarding the deceased: that we call upon Allah for them with forgiveness and mercy and whatever benefits them from supplication.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
Reciting the Qur'an over graves is not from the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the guidance of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Therefore, it is a religious innovation (bid'ah). The best place to recite the Qur'an is in the houses of Allah, the mosques, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
those persons who assemble in the house among the houses of Allah (mosques) and recite the Book of Allah and they learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves) there would descend upon them tranquility and mercy would cover them and the angels would surround them and Allah mentions them in the presence of those near Him
ما اجتمع قوم في بيت من بيوت الله يتلون كتاب الله ويتدارسونه بينهم إلا نزلت عليهم السكينة، وغشيتهم الرحمة، وحفتهم الملائكة، وذكرهم الله فيمن عندهAs for reciting over graves, it is not from the Sunnah but is from religious innovation (bid'ah). As for whether it benefits the deceased, it does not benefit the deceased, because a religious innovation (bid'ah) does not benefit its doer or anyone else. However, the scholars differed on whether, if a reciter recites the Qur'an not in the manner of innovation and intends the reward for a specific person, does this reward reach him or not?
Some scholars said: The original rule in acts of worship is that they are based on specific texts, and nothing reaches the deceased except what the Sunnah indicates reaches him, such as charity, for example, or making up obligatory fasting, or making up obligatory Hajj. Anything else for which the Sunnah has not come does not benefit the deceased and does not reach him. They cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىThey said: This verse is general in that a person has only what he strives for, except for what the Sunnah has brought. Thus, what the Sunnah has brought specifies this generality, and we restrict ourselves to it. There is no doubt that this opinion, as you heard, is a strong opinion due to the strength of its reasoning and the clarity of its evidence.
Some scholars said: If a person performs an act of obedience and intends its reward for a specific Muslim, then it benefits him, whether this act of worship is something the Sunnah has come with regarding the permissibility of dedicating its reward to a specific person or not.
They said: What the Sunnah has brought are specific cases and do not have a general scope, nor do they prevent analogizing similar cases to them. So, if the Sunnah has come with the permissibility of dedicating the reward of deeds to a specific person in certain matters, then other similar matters are the same. This is the well-known position of the school of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). The Hanbali jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned a general statement on this, saying: Any act of devotion he performs and dedicates its reward to a deceased or living Muslim benefits him.
Despite this, I say: It is better than all of this for a person to make supplication for the deceased. His supplication for the deceased is better than charity for him, better than fasting for him, better than 'Umrah for him, better than Tawaf for him, and better than any righteous deed he dedicates to the deceased. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When a man dies, his acts come to an end, but three, recurring charity, or knowledge (by which people) benefit, or a pious child, who prays for him (for the deceased).
إذا مات الإنسان انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث : إلا من صدقة جارية، أو علم ينتفع به، أو ولد صالح يدعو لهor a pious child, who prays for him
أو ولد صالح يدعو لهa righteous son who supplicates for him
ولد صالح يدعو لهTherefore, I advise my brothers to make righteous deeds for themselves, because they are the ones in need of these deeds, and to bestow upon their deceased brothers supplication, for this is the best, most beneficial, and most useful.
And as for the sayingThe questioner : And does the deceased hear, meaning the recitation of the living or their supplication for him or the like of that?
This is a matter in which the scholars differed. Some said: The deceased in his grave does not hear anything of what is said to him, not even the greeting to him; he does not hear it nor return it. They weakened the hadith in which it is said:
If a man stands over the grave of a man and greets him, and he knew him in this world, then Allah returns his spirit to him and he returns the greeting.
إن الرجل إذا وقف على قبر الرجل فسلم عليه وهو يعرفه في الدنيا، فإن الله يرد عليه روحه فيرد عليه السلامI say: Some scholars said: The deceased does not hear anything except what the Sunnah indicates, such as the standing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) over the killed polytheists who were killed at Badr and thrown into a well there. He stood over them and began calling them by their names and their fathers' names:
O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! O so-and-so, son of so-andso! Have you found what your Lord promised to be true? Of I have found what allah promised me to be true.
يا فلان بن فلان! هل وجدتم ما وعد ربكم حقاً، فإني وجدت ما وعدني ربي حقاًYou do not hear what I say any better than they do
ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهمSimilarly, what came in the authentic hadith:
When the deceased is buried and his companions leave him, so that he can hear the sound of their sandals, two angels come to him and ask him about his Lord, his Prophet, and his religion.
أن الميت إذا دفن وتولى عنه أصحابه حتى إنه ليسمع قرع نعالهم، أتاه ملكان يسألانه عن ربه ونبيه ودينهand he even hears their foot steps
حتى إنه ليسمع قرع نعالهمHowever, there is a consideration in citing this verse as evidence, because his saying:
Indeed, you will not make the dead hear
إِنَّكَ لا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَىTherefore, we say: What the Sunnah has brought regarding the hearing of the dead, we must believe in it. And what the Sunnah has not brought, our position is to wait, and we say: Allah knows best. But supplication for the deceased is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed in his saying:
or a pious child, who prays for him
أو ولد صالح يدعو لهSimilarly, the saying of the believers who came after the Companions:
"Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful."
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالإِيمَانِ وَلا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌThe questioner : May Allah bless you.