The republishing of this translation
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| Graveyard in Damascus |
Imam An-Nawawī on Benefitting the Deceased
Translated by Mahdi Lock
30_The Chapter on How the Statements of Others Benefit
the Deceased[1]
The ʿulamāʾ have made
consensus that supplicating (duʿāʾ) for the deceased benefits them and
the reward for it reaches them. Their proof is His, the Exalted’s, statement: “And
those who came into the faith after them say: ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our
brothers who went before us in faith.’” [Al-Ḥashr 59:10] and other
well-known āyāt that bear the same meaning, as well as well-known aḥādīth such
as his, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, statement: “O Allah,
forgive the people of Baqīʿ Al-Gharqad”[2] as well as his,
may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, statement: “O Allah, forgive our
living and our dead.”[3]
The ʿulamāʾ have
differed over whether the reward for reciting the Qurʾān reaches [the
deceased]. The dominant (mashhūr) position of the Shāfiʿī madhhab, as
well as a group of other scholars, is that it does not reach, while Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal
and a group of scholars, as well as a group of scholars from the Shāfiʿī
madhhab, hold the position that it does reach. The one reciting may say once he
has finished: ‘O Allah, give the reward of what I have read to so-and-so’,[4]
and Allah knows best.[5] It
is recommended to praise the deceased and mention their merits and good
qualities.
426_In the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections of Al-Bukhārī and
Muslim, we have related on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with
him, who said: ‘They passed by a janāza and the people were saying good
things about the person, and then The Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be
upon him, said: “It is necessary (wajabat).” Then they passed by
another janāza and the people were saying evil things about the person.
Again, he said: “It is necessary.” Then, ʿUmar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah
be pleased with him, said: ‘What is necessary?’ He said: “You said good
things about this person, so Paradise is necessary for him, and you said evil
things about this other person, so the Fire is necessary for him. You are
Allah’s witnesses on earth.”’
426_In the Ṣaḥīḥ of Al-Bukhārī, we have related on
the authority of Abū Al-Aswad, who said: ‘I arrived in Madīna and sat with
ʿUmar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, when a janāza
passed by. The people were saying good things about the person, so ʿUmar said:
“It is necessary.” Then another janāza passed by and, again, good things
were said about the person, so ʿUmar said: “It is necessary.” Then a third janāza
passed by and bad things were said about the person, so ʿUmar said: “It is
necessary.”’ Abu Al-Aswad said: ‘I said: “What is necessary, O Commander of the
Believers?” He said: “I have said as The Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace
be upon him, said: “If four people testify to the goodness of any Muslim,
Allah will enter him into Paradise.” We said: “And three?” He said: “And
three.” We said: “And two?” He said: “And two.” Then we didn’t ask
about one.”’ The aḥādīth that are similar to what we have mentioned are many,
and Allah knows best.
Question: Does the reward of the Fātiḥa and reciting other parts of
the Qurʾān reach the deceased after they have died or after they have been
buried in their graves or any other place?
Answer: [Imam Wahbah Az-Zuḥaylī:] There are two
conflicting opinions on this matter that have been mentioned by As-Sanʿānī in
his book Bushra Al-Kaʾīb bi Liqāʾ al-Ḥabīb.
The
first opinion, which is the dominant [mashūr] opinion of the madhabs of
Mālik and Ash-Shāfiʿī, is that it does not reach.
The
second opinion, which is the madhhab of Imam Aḥmad and the majority of the salaf
and the four madhabs, including the later Mālikīs and Shāfiʿīs, is that the
reward does reach. Imām Abū Ḥanīfa said: ‘The deceased receives everything from
ṣadaqa and whatever else.’ He also said: ‘Read “Āyat al-Kursī” three times and “Qul huwa Allahu aḥad” and say: “O
Allah, indeed the bounty [faḍl] is for the people of the graves.”’
As-Sanʿānī mentioned the proofs for
the second opinion, who say that the deceased benefit from what the living do
for them, from the Book, the Sunnah, the Consensus [ijmāʾ] and the
principles of the Revealed Law.
As for the Book, it is His, the
Exalted’s, statement: “Those who come after them say: ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith.”
[Al-Ḥashr 59:10] Allah
praised them because they sought forgiveness for the believers who came before
them, and this proves that the deceased benefit from the living seeking
forgiveness. The deceased benefitting from supplication [duʾā] is also
proved by the Consensus of the Ummah regarding supplicating for them in the janāza
prayer.
The aḥādīth have confirmed
that he, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, supplicated in the janāza
prayer for whoever sent prayers on him, and he said: ‘O Allah, forgive him,
have mercy on him, excuse him and pardon him.’[7]
Consensus has been made stating that
it is permissible for a debt to be discharged on behalf of a deceased person by
anyone, close or far, and that if the deceased owes a debt to a living person, that person
can waive it and no longer make any claim to it, just as he would with a living
person. Consensus has also been made stating that the reward of fasting
(voluntary or obligatory) reaching the deceased being confirmed in the Sunnah
is proof that the reward of all other actions reaches them. The texts have
confirmed that the reward reaches the deceased for three kinds of worship,
physical (i.e. fasting), financial (giving charity on behalf of the dead) and
both the physical and financial together (through performing the Hajj on behalf
of a deceased person or someone who is chronically ill and unable to move).[8]
Ibn Taymiyyah[9] said:
‘Indeed the deceased benefit from the recitation of Qurʾān, as they benefit
from financial worship such as charity (ṣadaqa) and other things.’
Likewise, An-Nawawī said in Al-Majmūʿ[10]: ‘The reward for reciting the Qurʾān reaches the deceased.’
In conclusion, the relied-upon (muʿtamad)
position of the four madhabs is that the reward for reciting the Qurʾān reaches
the deceased if the living dedicate it to them.
[1] Translated from Al-Adkhār
min Kalām Sayyid Al-Abrār by Al-Imām, Al-Ḥāfiẓ, Sheikh ul-Islām Muḥyī Ad-Dīn
Abī Zakariyā Yaḥyā bin Sharaf An-Nawawī Ad-Dimashqī Ash-Shāfiʿī (Damascus:
Al-Maktaba Al-ʿAṣriya, 2000/1421) p.138
[2] Translator’s note (tn):
This ḥadīth is found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and is on the following page of Al-Adhkār,
i.e. p.139.
[3] (tn): Sunan Abī Dāwūd,
Sunan At-Tirmidhī, Sunan An-Nasāʾī, Sunan Al-Bayhaqi as
well as Al-Mustadrak of Al-Ḥākim. Imam At-Tirmidhī classed it as ḥasan
ṣaḥīḥ while Imam Al-Ḥakim said: ‘This ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ according to
the conditions of Al-Bukhārī and Muslim.’ Please see p.131-132 of Al-Adhkār
for further details.
[4] (tn): Ar. Allahumm awṣil
thawāba ma qaraʾtuhu ilā [enter name here].
[5] (tn): For further details
on this point, please read Sheikh Wahba Az-Zuḥaylī’s fatwa below.
[6] Translated
from Fatāwā Muʿāṣira by Sheikh Wahba Az-Zuhaylī, p. 273-274 (Damascus:
Dar Al-Fikr, 2003)
[7] Narrated
by Al-Bukhārī in Al-Adab as well as Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, At-Tirmidhī and
An-Nasāʾī from Abū Hurayra.
[8] (tn):
The Imam is mentioning this statement because this is what everyone is agreed
upon. This issue also includes other actions, such as reciting the Qur’an and
so forth, as there are famous positions from Shāfiʿī Imams stating that such
things do not reach the dead and are not to be done. It is this position that
Salafiyyah adopts as if there were no other position, when in fact there is a
difference of opinion.
[9] (tn):
i.e. Taqī ud-Dīn Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah.
[10] (tn): This
is Imām An-Nawawī’s 27-volume fiqh book, which is the ultimate reference work
for the Shafiʿī school.
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