Reading Qur'aan for the Dead

8/6/2019 Reading Qur'aan for the Dead

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Reading Quraan for the Dead

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds and may Allah raise the rank of our dear

Prophet Muhammad.

The following shall clear up all the confusion and answer all your questions :

Firstly, regarding the reading of the Quran, it is a rewardable deed with the right

intention and with the proper articulation of the Arabic letters, even if it were

upon the Muslim dead.

Imam An-Nawawiyy (d. 676 H.) said in his book Al-AdhKar: It has been reported

to us through Sunan Al-Bayhaqiyy with a chain of narration classified as hasan,

that Ibn Ùmar regarded the recitation of the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah

and its ending upon the grave of a newly buried Muslim as a mustahab (likeable)matter. He also said: Ash-Shafiìyy and his companions in his madhhab said that it

is a mustahab (likeable) matter to recite some of the Quran upon the grave of a

Muslim, and they added that if the Quran was recited in its entirety then that would

also be a rewardable matter.

Imam Ahmad and other scholars also relayed the same ruling. Imam Al-Qadi Abul

Fadl Ìyad said something to that effect in his commentary book to Sahih Muslim

when explaining the Hadith of the female slave in which the Prophet, peace be upon

him, said about two recently buried Muslims, after he split a moist palm branch into

two and fixed the two branches over the graves: We hope that any punishment will

be eased while the branches are still moist. Specifically, Al-Qadi Ìyad said:

Scholars deduced from this Hadith that it is likeable (mustahab) to read the Quran

upon the dead, because if punishment could be eased by the tasbih (glorifying Allah)

of the branches which are objects, then given the priority of the Quran, its recitation

upon the dead would be likeable. This ruling was also conveyed from him and it was

agreed upon by Al-Abiyy in his explanation book to Sahih Muslim. Another piece of

evidence testifying to the benefiting of the dead Muslim from the Quranic recitation

of another is the Hadith narrated by Ma`qal bin Yasar in which the Prophet peace be

upon him says: Recite the verses of Surat Yasin upon your dead (narrated by Abu

Dawud, An-Nasaiyy and Ibn Majah, who classified it as a Sahih Hadith).

It has also been confirmed by way of Prophetic traditions which are classified as

Sahih Hadiths that charity, fasting the Hajj and the Ùmrah done on behalf of a dead

Muslim reach him. Reciting the Quran is another form of worship and it reaches the

dead, because all are forms of worship. This ruling is clearly deduced from the

confirmed Prophetic traditions, and there is no Islamic disproof to its legitimacy and

validity. Al-Qurtubiyy said in his book At-Tadhkirah: The source of the ruling in this

matter is the confirmed reward of the charity which reaches the dead. By the same

token, the recitation of the Quran and the supplications to Allah for forgiveness for

the dead reach him.


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Another issue which points to the legitimacy of the recitation of the Quran upon the

dead, is the Janazah (Funeral) prayer. This prayer has been ruled upon us, and it

certainly brings a benefit to the dead from what it contains of Quranic recitation and

supplication to Allah for forgiveness. If the supplications for forgiveness in the prayerreach the dead, then the Quranic recitation in the prayer also reach the dead. In

addition, these recitations reach the dead whether they have been completed part of

the prayer in a combined form, or whether theyre carried out separately as a form of

worship outside the prayer. Allah orders us towards guidance, and He is the one that

guides his slaves towards the straight path. The general order in the Quranic ayah

which means Do good deeds as such will lead to success also points to this

meaning.

The second matter in your question was related to talqin, which happens afterthe person is placed in the ground. Imam An-Nawawiyy says in Al-Adhkar:

Many of our companions said that it is likeable (mustahab) to make talqin to the

dead Muslim after his or her burial. From those companions [An-Nawawiyys] is Al-

Qadi Husayn in his Ta`liq, his friend Abu Saìd Al-Mutawalli in his book At-

Tatimmah, Ash-Shaykh Imam Abul Fath Nasr bin Ibrahim bin Nasr Al-Maqdisiyy,

Imam Abul Qasim Ar-Rafiìyy and others. Qadi Husayn also conveyed that matter

from way of his companions. As to the exact phrase Ash-Shaykh Nasr said the

following: Once one finishes from burying him, they stand at his head and they say

Ya fulan ibn fulan [calling him]! Remember the covenant by which you exited this

world; the testification that there is no God but Allah who has no partners and the

testification that Muhammad is the messenger and slave of Allah, also remember that

Judgment Day is coming no doubt and that Allah resurrects those in the graves, say: I

have accepted that my Lord is Allah, that Islam is my religion, that Muhammad

sallallahu àlayhi wa sallam is a true Prophet, that the Ka`bah is the true direction for

prayer, that the Quran is my guider and that the Muslims are brethren. Testify that

your Lord is Allah, there is no God but Him and that He is the Lord and Creator of the

great Throne (Àrsh). Those were the words of Shaykh Nasr Al-Maqdisiyy in his

book At-Tahdhib, and the expressions of others are similar to that. Also there are

those that say: Ya Àbdallah ibn amatillah - O slave-of-Allah son of the slave-of-

Allah [the mother] while others say Ya Àbdallah ibn Hawwa - O slave-of-Allahson of Hawwa (Eve) and some call him by his name followed by ibn amatillah.

All these expressions imply the same meaning.

Ash-Shaykh Imam Abu Ùmar ibn As-Salah, may Allah have mercy upon him,

was asked about the talqin to which he replied in his book of fatwa: At-talqin is

what we have accepted, and by which we practice. Some of our friends from

Khurasan have mentioned that a Hadith about it was reported to them from the

way of Abu Umamah whose direct transmission is not strong, nevertheless the

matter has been supported by other narrations, as well as by the practice of thepeople of Ash-Sham which dates back to the early days [from An-Nawawiyys


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book Al-Adhkar]. Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar said in his book Talkhis Al-Habir that

this Hadith has a salih (strong) transmission.

The third matter in your question was related to sitting for condolences. Imam An-Nawawiyy said about this in his book Al-Adhkar: Imam Ash-Shafiìyy and our

friends, may Allah have mercy upon them, said that it is a makruh (disliked) matter to

sit for condolences (with that specific intention). They added that to sit for

condolences implies that the kin of the dead person sit at their house with the

intention of being visited for condolences, rather these people are asked to go about

their daily lives The disliked matter is to sit at home in order for people to come

and give their condolences, and thus the sitting with that intention is the implied

meaning. On the other hand, if a man was overwhelmed by the happening as a result

of which he sat, and then the people came to give their condolences, in that case it is

not makruh (not disliked). The proof for that last ruling is taken from the confirmed

Hadith of Àishah, may Allah be pleased with her, in which she says that when Zaydbin Harithah was killed along with Ja`far and Abdullah bin Rawahah, the Prophet

peace be upon him, sat in the mosque while he was cheerless (related by Abu

Dawud). Furthermore, Al-Hattab Al-Maliki said in Mawahib Al-Jalil: Categories:

Category 1: Sitting for condolences. It is permitted for a man to sit to receive

condolences. Furthermore, he mentioned the narration of the Hadith in which the

Prophet sat in the mosque.

The fourth matter in your question was related to preparing food for the family of the

deceased. Abu Dawud related in his Sunan in the section on preparing food for the

family of the deceased from the chain of Abdullah bin Ja`far that he said: The

Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Prepare food for the family of Ja`far, as they have

been engaged with a matter that has come before them. This Hadith was also related

by Ahmad in his Musnad, At-Tirmidhiyy, ibn Majah and Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak

and he classified it with a Sahih chain of narration (the Messenger of Allah said this,

when Ja`far was killed and the news reached him). Ibn Al-Athir said that the Prophet

wanted them to cook and make bread, hence it is a likeable matter for the neighbors

and the far relatives to do this. Abu Ìsa At-Tirmidhiyy classified this Hadith to be of

a Hasan Sahih classification. In addition, some scholars to the likes of Ash-Shafiìyy

said that it is a likeable matter to perform things on behalf of the family due to theirengagement with their calamity. At-Tibiyy also said that it is a likeable (mustahab)

matter for the relatives and the neighbors to prepare food for the family of the

deceased.

As to the Hadith of Jarir bin Abdullah Al-Bajaliyy, may Allah be pleased with him,

which is related by Imam Ahmad, and which states that in the time of Al-Bajaliyy

they used to count the meeting at the family home of the dead on the same day after

the burial where food is made out of overbearing pride (fakhr) for the visitors as part

of niyahah (voluntary loud wailing indicating non-patience; it is Haram) - this Hadithis not related to condolence per se, but rather it carries a specific prevention from


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performing them nor mentioning them in his Hadith, do not contradict the

Hadiths and the rulings of the Prophet, hence they are taken to be agreeable

matters in Religion.

We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us further knowledge in his Religion. Amin.

Allah Knows Best.

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Reading Qur'aan for the Dead