Ruling on gathering in the deceased's house to recite the Qur'an and eat food

Question:
A letter reached the program from Ujilah in Libya. The sender of the letter is one of the brothers, saying: Hamad 'Utaybi. I request that my questions be presented to His Eminence Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz.
The first question: After any deceased person is buried in our town and the family of the deceased returns to the house, many of the town's residents accompany them. The reciters gather in the house of the deceased and recite the Qur'an by dividing it into parts, reciting them together in one hour, each person reciting one or two parts. Then they eat the charity food that was prepared, which consists of several sheep that were slaughtered before the burial of the deceased. This is done on the first, second, and third days, and then on the day of the week. Does the reward of the recitation and charity in this manner reach the deceased, knowing that those who attended and ate from the charity food are not in need? Please issue a ruling for us, may Allah reward you with the best reward for us and for the Muslims.

Answer:
I do not know any basis for this practice in the Shari'ah, and it is among the religious innovations that people have introduced. It is not the custom of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor the custom of his Companions to return to the house of the deceased or any other place after the burial to gather for food and for reciting the Qur'an. This is not from the Sunnah of the Muslims, as far as we know.
However, if this is done without a fixed rule or specific following, but rather by chance, such that after they returned from the burial, some of their brothers invited them and provided them with food, or one of them recited some recitation, without it being a continuous custom or an established Sunnah, but rather for a temporary occasion, this does no harm. If they returned and some of their brothers said, "Please, come to my place," and fed them whatever was available, or one of them recited some recitation for themselves, there is nothing wrong with that.
But to make this a custom, where after they return they go to the place of the deceased or the place of so-and-so as a fixed rule, to recite the Qur'an and send its reward to him and eat from what was prepared before the death, this has no basis. Rather, it is from religious innovations. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is agreed upon as authentic. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Muslim narrated it in his Sahih from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). And he also said (peace and blessings be upon him): And he used to say in the Friday sermon (peace and blessings be upon him): Muslim narrated it in the Sahih. Al-Nasa'i added with a good chain: .
So my advice to these brothers is that they do not do this. And when they are finished with burying the deceased, each one should go to his family and his home and make du'a for their deceased.
As for reciting the Qur'an for the deceased, it has no basis. And even if a group of scholars said that there is no harm in it, it has no known basis from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or from the Companions. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [Al-Nisa: 59], and He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Shura: 10].
And looking into the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), we do not know of anything that indicates this when referring to them. It is not from the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and it is not from the guidance of his Companions. Furthermore, it imposes a burden on those who spend these monies, whether they are the family of the deceased or others, and it legislates a religion that Allah has not authorized. And Allah says, Exalted is He: [Al-Shura: 21].
So it is obligatory to abandon this custom and to engage in what benefits the deceased, such as making du'a for the deceased on the way and in the house, making du'a for him and seeking mercy for him. And if one wishes to give charity on behalf of the deceased without obligating anyone, there is no harm. Charity benefits the deceased. Or his family can give charity on his behalf. Charity benefits the deceased by giving the poor charity, or clothes from their clothes, or money, or food. All of this is good. If he does this on behalf of the deceased, he is rewarded, provided the deceased was a Muslim.
Likewise, sending food to the family of the deceased when their neighbors or relatives prepare food and send it to them is prescribed, because they are preoccupied with the calamity. This is prescribed because it is established that when the news of the death of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sham at Mu'tah reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he ordered his family to prepare food for his family. He said: So he ordered that food be sent to the family of Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him); because the calamity had preoccupied them from preparing food for themselves. There is nothing wrong with this; rather, it is prescribed.
As for the family of the deceased, no. As for the family of the deceased, they do not present food to people nor do they prepare it for people, and they are not obligated to do so, neither from the money of the deceased nor from money other than the money of the deceased. But if a guest comes to them and they feed him from their food, or feed him what is appropriate for him because he is a guest, not for the sake of the deceased, not for the sake of making it a custom, but for the sake of the guest, then there is no harm. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.