What is the ruling on announcing a death in a car, preparing food for the mourners, and hiring a reciter to read the Qur'an at the condolence gathering for a fee?
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The questioner : When a person dies, they come with a car equipped with a loudspeaker, drive around the villages, and say: "So-and-so has passed away to the mercy of Allah." They prepare a place to receive people, cook food for them, and bring a reciter to read. What is the ruling on these things, and does the deceased benefit from this reciter's reading, given that he takes a fee for his recitation?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is forbidden from several aspects:
First: it is part of the announcement of death (na'i) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to forbid the announcement of death, which is informing people of a person's death, except when the deceased has not yet been buried and we are informed of his death in order to increase the number of people praying for him. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):.
Second: this practice is from the practices of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah), and we have been forbidden from imitating them.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is forbidden from several aspects:
First: it is part of the announcement of death (na'i) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to forbid the announcement of death, which is informing people of a person's death, except when the deceased has not yet been buried and we are informed of his death in order to increase the number of people praying for him. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The Negus was announced as dead on the day he died, and the people were ordered to go out and pray for him.
نعى النجاشي في اليوم الذي مات فيه وأمر الناس فخرجوا فصلوا عليهSecond: this practice is from the practices of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah), and we have been forbidden from imitating them.