بـسـم الله والحـمـد لله والـصلاة والـسـلام عــلى رسـول الله، وبـعـد
No doubt that the death - as Allaah calls it - is a
calamity, which affects the deceased and those around him from his family. It
brings the actions of the deceased to an end and saddens his family upon his
demise.
These two things have become a common practice in association with
death:
Firstly: anytime a close
relative dies, some members of the family of the deceased go to Makkah to
perform `Umrah on his behalf. This is vastly practiced by some of the
people living here in Saudi Arabia, but is not limited to them as those coming
from outside for Hajj and `Umrah are also seen performing `Umrah
on behalf of their fathers and mothers etc.
Secondly: gathering together for
reciting the Qur’aan and donating its reward to the deceased (isaal al-sawaab).
For the first part, there are Ahaadeeth which permit a
person to perform Hajj or `Umrah on behalf of someone who is
either dead, or is extremely old or one who terminally ill and does not expect
to get well. An example from the Hadeeth is the following:
Narrated Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنهما: A
woman from the tribe of Juhaina came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
and said, "My mother had vowed to perform Hajj but she died before
performing it. May I perform Hajj on my mother's behalf?" The
Prophet replied, "Perform Hajj on
her behalf. Had there been a debt on your mother, would you have paid it or
not? So, pay Allaah's debt as He has more right to be paid." [Saheeh
al-Bukhaaree (1852)]
Narrated Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنهما: A
woman from the tribe of Khath'am came in the year (of Hajjat-al-Wadaa`
of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) and said: “O Allaah's Apostle! My father has come under Allaah’s
obligation of performing Hajj but he is a very old man and cannot sit
properly on his mount. Will the obligation be fulfilled if I perform Hajj
on his behalf?” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied in the affirmative. [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and
Saheeh Muslim]
And there are more similar Ahaadeeth, which makes it
permissible for the people to perform Hajj or `Umrah on behalf of
the deceased. But what the people overlook is that these Ahaadeeth limit the performance
only to Hajjat-al-Islaam and `Umrat-al-Islaam (meaning, only on
behalf of the person who has never performed Hajj or `Umrah ever before
in his life; in other words, for the person who has not performed the
obligatory Hajj).
A question was asked to Shaikh Ibn al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله:
Question: Is it
allowed to perform voluntary Hajj on behalf of someone else?
Answer: If the
person has already fulfilled the obligation (i.e. has already performed Hajj
and `Umrah before), but now wants to appoint someone else to perform voluntary
Hajj or `Umrah on his behalf; then concerning this matter there
is a difference of opinion among the people of knowledge. Among them there are
those who permit it and among them there are those who prohibit it. That which
seems closest to what is correct with me is prohibition and that it is not
permissible for anyone to appoint someone to perform Hajj or `Umrah on
his behalf if it is voluntary. This is because the basic principle concerning
acts of worship is that the person performs them by himself.
This is just as the person does not appoint someone to
fast for him, even though if a person dies and he owes obligatory fast, his
guardian or successor fasts on his behalf. The same is true concerning the Hajj,
and the Hajj is an act of worship that the person is to perform with his
body. Wealth given to someone else is not the intent of it. Since it is a
bodily act of worship that the person performs with his body, it is not correct
that someone else perform for him, except concerning what the Sunnah has reported.
However, the Sunnah has not related anything concerning the person performing a
voluntary Hajj on behalf of someone else. This is one of the two
statements reported from Imaam Ahmad. I mean that it is not correct for the
person to appoint someone else to perform voluntary Hajj or `Umrah for
him, regardless of whether he is able to do it himself or not.
So, if we go by this statement, this becomes an
encouragement to the wealthy people who are able to perform Hajj for
themselves, because some people pass many years without even going to Makkah.
They do this relying upon the act of appointing someone to perform Hajj
for them every year. Thus, the person misses Hajj because he has
appointed someone else to perform Hajj for him. And Allaah knows best.
[Shaikh Ibn al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله, Fataawaa Islaamiyah (2/192-193)]
As for the second part: there is not a single textual
evidence from the Book of Allaah تعالى or the Sunnah of His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
or the actions of the Sahaabah to support the claim of Isaal al-Sawaab.
Keeping in mind that there are many Ahaadeeth permit certain
actions, the reward of which is given to the deceased, but the reward of
recitation of the Qur’aan is not one of them.
[For more on this, see the link: Deeds
which benefit the dead]
These are deeds which – by Allaah’s Will – will benefit
the dead. Anything other than this, which has no evidence from the Qur’aan and
the Sunnah, is nothing but Bid`ah. The most common bid`ah which
the people do is to gather together to read the Qur’aan on behalf of the dead
(Qur’aan khwani or Isaal al-Sawaab) which has no basis in Islaam. If the
deceased did not benefit from the Qur’aan when he was alive, then it will not
benefit him after his death.
The Qur’aan is for the
living and not for the dead as Allaah تعالى says:
{“We have not instructed
the (Prophet) in Poetry nor is it suitable for Him: this is no less than a
Message and a Qur'an making things clear: That it may give admonition those who
are ALIVE and that the charge may be proved against those who reject (Truth).”}
[Surah Yaseen (36): 69-70]
See also:
http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=1105&PageNo=1&BookID=14
http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=1088&PageNo=1&BookID=14
http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=1118&PageNo=1&BookID=14
See also:
http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=1105&PageNo=1&BookID=14
http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=1088&PageNo=1&BookID=14
http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=1118&PageNo=1&BookID=14
And
Allaah is the Granter of success.
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