Ruling on taking a fee for reciting the Qur'an over the dead
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Q: A questioner from Yemen says: People among us recite the Qur'an over the dead and take a fee for it. Do the dead benefit from this in any way? And when one of them dies, they recite the Qur'an for three days and prepare slaughtered animals and feasts. Is this from the Shari'ah?
A: Reciting over the dead is a religious innovation (bid'ah), and taking a fee for it is not permissible, because nothing indicating this has come in the pure Shari'ah. Acts of worship are based on divine legislation, and nothing is permissible in them except what Allah has prescribed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1718a It is agreed upon as authentic.
Similarly, slaughtering animals and preparing food for the sake of the deceased is all a blameworthy religious innovation (bid'ah) that is not permissible, whether it is done for one day or several days, because the pure Shari'ah has not come with this; rather, it is from the practices of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). This is because it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Mishkat al-Masabih 1727 And he said: Sahih Muslim 934 Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. And from Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him) he said: "We used to consider gathering at the house of the deceased and preparing food after the burial to be wailing (niyahah)." Narrated by Imam Ahmad with a good chain of narration. And among his sayings (peace and blessings be upon him) is: Sahih Muslim 934 The hadith mentioned earlier.
It was not the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the practice of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that when a person died, they would recite the Qur'an for him or recite the Qur'an over him, or slaughter animals, or hold mourning gatherings, foods, and parties. All of this is a religious innovation (bid'ah). Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious of it and to warn people against it.
And it is incumbent upon scholars, in particular, to forbid people from what Allah has forbidden them, and to restrain the ignorant and the foolish until they are straight on the right path that Allah has prescribed for His servants. By this, conditions and societies will be rectified, the rule of Islam will manifest, and the matters of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) will disappear. We ask Allah for guidance and success for everyone.
A: Reciting over the dead is a religious innovation (bid'ah), and taking a fee for it is not permissible, because nothing indicating this has come in the pure Shari'ah. Acts of worship are based on divine legislation, and nothing is permissible in them except what Allah has prescribed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردSimilarly, slaughtering animals and preparing food for the sake of the deceased is all a blameworthy religious innovation (bid'ah) that is not permissible, whether it is done for one day or several days, because the pure Shari'ah has not come with this; rather, it is from the practices of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). This is because it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Among my people there are four characteristics belonging to the pre-Islamic period which they do not abandon: boasting of high rank, reviling other people’s genealogies, seeking rain by the stars, and wailing.
أربع في أمتي من أمر الجاهلية لا يتركونهن: الفخر بالأحساب، والطعن في الأنساب، والاستسقاء بالنجوم، والنياحةIf the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and a chemise of mange.
النائحة إذا لم تتب قبل موتها تقام يوم القيامة وعليها سربال من قطران ودرع من جربAmong my people there are four characteristics belonging to pre-Islamic period which they do not abandon
أربع في أمتي من أمر الجاهلية لا يتركونهنIt was not the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the practice of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that when a person died, they would recite the Qur'an for him or recite the Qur'an over him, or slaughter animals, or hold mourning gatherings, foods, and parties. All of this is a religious innovation (bid'ah). Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious of it and to warn people against it.
And it is incumbent upon scholars, in particular, to forbid people from what Allah has forbidden them, and to restrain the ignorant and the foolish until they are straight on the right path that Allah has prescribed for His servants. By this, conditions and societies will be rectified, the rule of Islam will manifest, and the matters of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) will disappear. We ask Allah for guidance and success for everyone.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.