Transferring Rewards
Question:
1. Does reciting fatiha for the deceased transfers reward to him/her?
2. If so, which surahs should be recited and in what order.
3. What is best to recite for the deceased either at his/her grave or elsewhere?
4. Can we offer food/clothing/other help to the poor/needy for the sake of transferring reward to the deceased (1) from the money left by the deceased (2) out of our own money?
Answer:
We read in the Qur’an:
لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسانِ إِلاَّ ما سَعى …
… human being shall only receive (in the Hereafter) that which he has earned (53:39)
Therefore the answer to your question is obvious:
The concept of transferring rewards is totally alien to the teachings of Islam. This is why we do not have even a single report suggesting that the prophet (pbuh) would read the Qur’an or would advise reading the Qur’an (or offering food, cloth, etc.) to transfer the rewards to a deceased.
However consider this totally different situation:
A person has died. You know him as a strong believer. When you think of him you feel that his memory encourages you to read the Qur’an or pay charity. Such is the positive effect of this person on your soul. In this situation you read the Qur’an or pay some charity not to transfer any rewards, but because remembering that person makes you feel that you like to do these good deeds. By doing them you will get the reward but the deceased will also share some of that reward (without reducing from your reward) because he/she was one of the reasons that you were motivated to do that good deed. It was in fact due to the good personality and the good deeds of the deceased that when you think about him/her you feel like doing something good. This is an example of what is referred to as Baqiyat al-Salihat (remaining effects of good deeds of a deceased).
We read in the Qur’an:
… وَ نَكْتُبُ ما قَدَّمُوا وَ آثارَهُم …
… and we write your deeds and their effects … (36:12)
As for paying charity from the deceased money, if this is the deceased will then of course it needs to be paid and the reward goes to the deceased. However if the deceased has not asked for this then his left over wealth needs to be distributed according and based on the shari'ah of inheritance, as detailed in the Qu'an. If anything remains after this then it can be given for charity with a hope that the deceased may benefit from some rewards for this act.
Also note that the best thing we can do for a deceased is to pray for his/her forgiveness.
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December 2013
1. Does reciting fatiha for the deceased transfers reward to him/her?
2. If so, which surahs should be recited and in what order.
3. What is best to recite for the deceased either at his/her grave or elsewhere?
4. Can we offer food/clothing/other help to the poor/needy for the sake of transferring reward to the deceased (1) from the money left by the deceased (2) out of our own money?
Answer:
We read in the Qur’an:
لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسانِ إِلاَّ ما سَعى …
… human being shall only receive (in the Hereafter) that which he has earned (53:39)
Therefore the answer to your question is obvious:
The concept of transferring rewards is totally alien to the teachings of Islam. This is why we do not have even a single report suggesting that the prophet (pbuh) would read the Qur’an or would advise reading the Qur’an (or offering food, cloth, etc.) to transfer the rewards to a deceased.
However consider this totally different situation:
A person has died. You know him as a strong believer. When you think of him you feel that his memory encourages you to read the Qur’an or pay charity. Such is the positive effect of this person on your soul. In this situation you read the Qur’an or pay some charity not to transfer any rewards, but because remembering that person makes you feel that you like to do these good deeds. By doing them you will get the reward but the deceased will also share some of that reward (without reducing from your reward) because he/she was one of the reasons that you were motivated to do that good deed. It was in fact due to the good personality and the good deeds of the deceased that when you think about him/her you feel like doing something good. This is an example of what is referred to as Baqiyat al-Salihat (remaining effects of good deeds of a deceased).
We read in the Qur’an:
… وَ نَكْتُبُ ما قَدَّمُوا وَ آثارَهُم …
… and we write your deeds and their effects … (36:12)
As for paying charity from the deceased money, if this is the deceased will then of course it needs to be paid and the reward goes to the deceased. However if the deceased has not asked for this then his left over wealth needs to be distributed according and based on the shari'ah of inheritance, as detailed in the Qu'an. If anything remains after this then it can be given for charity with a hope that the deceased may benefit from some rewards for this act.
Also note that the best thing we can do for a deceased is to pray for his/her forgiveness.
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December 2013
