Hajj and 'Umrah on Behalf of the Deceased

Question:
We return at the beginning of this episode to a message we received from one of our brother listeners, who preferred not to have his name mentioned. We presented part of his questions in a previous episode, and in this episode he has another set of questions. He asks Your Eminence, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz, and says: Is it true that the reward of 'Umrah, or Hajj, reaches the deceased and raises his ranks in Paradise? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Performing Hajj on behalf of the deceased and 'Umrah on behalf of the deceased is among the best acts of drawing near to Allah, and the Muslim deceased benefits greatly from it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about this many times. He said to the questioner: and to the female questioner: and to the other: Another person asked him, saying: I have a debt of a shibr (a small amount) to Shubrumah. He said: He said: A brother of mine, or a relative. He said: .
People are of different categories. Some have already performed the obligatory Hajj and the obligatory 'Umrah. If someone performs Hajj on their behalf, it is a voluntary act, and if someone performs 'Umrah on their behalf, it is a voluntary act. Their brother, or their father, or a relative, or a brother among the brothers in Allah performs it on their behalf; all of this is good, and so is 'Umrah.
If the person has not performed Hajj and has not performed 'Umrah, then the one who performs Hajj on their behalf has fulfilled the obligatory act for them, and so is 'Umrah; he has fulfilled the obligatory 'Umrah for them. In any case, he is rewarded, and the deceased is rewarded; both are rewarded. He is rewarded for his good deed and his kindness to his brother, and the deceased is rewarded by that. So is charity, and so is supplication. If he gives charity on behalf of his brother, he and the deceased are both rewarded. So if he supplicates for his deceased brother, he is rewarded, and the deceased benefits from the supplication. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. So, do righteous deeds benefit the deceased and raise his ranks in Paradise, as you say?

The Shaykh: The righteous deeds that Allah has prescribed to be done on behalf of the deceased, such as Hajj, or 'Umrah, or paying off a debt, or supplication, or charity on his behalf. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. So, are there deeds that it is not permissible for a person to perform?

The Shaykh: On behalf of the deceased, such as praying on his behalf... Praying on his behalf, or reciting the Qur'an on his behalf; there is nothing in the Shari'ah indicating that these are prescribed. Or fasting on his behalf as a voluntary act. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. The reality, Your Eminence, is that people mix these things up. Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to kindly guide the Muslims in...

The Shaykh: What is established for us by the Shari'ah is that the deceased benefits from Hajj performed on his behalf, and 'Umrah performed on his behalf, and charity given on his behalf, and supplication and seeking forgiveness for him, and paying off his debt. And so, if he has an obligatory fast from Ramadan, or an expiation, or a vow, it is fasted on his behalf.
As for fasting on his behalf as a voluntary act, or praying on his behalf, or performing tawaf on his behalf, there is no evidence for it, as far as we know. And so, reciting the Qur'an on his behalf, there is no evidence for it, even though some scholars hold that view and that he benefits from the recitation of the Qur'an on his behalf, but there is no evidence for it. The acts of drawing near to Allah are based on divine legislation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
We do not know in the Shari'ah anything indicating that it is prescribed for a believer to pray on behalf of so-and-so, or to fast on behalf of so-and-so as a voluntary act, or to recite on his behalf, or to perform tawaf on his behalf, or to remember Allah on his behalf. What is established is that Hajj is complete; he performs a complete Hajj on his behalf, or a complete 'Umrah, or gives charity on his behalf with money, or supplicates for him and seeks forgiveness for him, or pays off his debt. All of this is established. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah bless you and reward you. Your Eminence, it is also perhaps important for you to kindly clarify what is based on divine legislation and what is not, so that people do not mix up these two matters?

The Shaykh: What is based on divine legislation regarding acts of worship, what concerns acts of drawing near to Allah and obedience, is that nothing is prescribed from it except what has come in the Shari'ah. As for what is not based on divine legislation, it is what concerns worldly matters and transactions; there is nothing wrong with these, people deal in what benefits them, provided that it does not contradict the Shari'ah.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.

The presenter: Shall we move on to another issue?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The presenter: May Allah bless you.