Qul fatihah for deceased.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
If some one dies can
he or she will be benifited by reading Quran and arranging other ritual
ceremonies like QUL etc.If yes please quote Hadith if not then what shall we do
for his/her Maghfrah
Thanks and best regards
Akhtar Khan
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Qul fatihah for
deceased
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 164:
Every soul
draws the meed of its acts on none but itself: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is toward Allah: He will
tell you the truth of the things wherein ye disputed.
Abu Hurairah reported that The Prophet (saws), said, 'When a
person dies all his good deeds cease except for three:
1.
a
continuous act of charity,
2.
beneficial
knowledge, and
3.
a
righteous offspring who prays for him'.''
Related by Muslim and Abu Dawood.
In light of the above guidance of the Quran it is
absolutely clear that every soul will draw the meed or merit of its own deeds;
and in light of the absolutely clear guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws)
all the deeds of a deceased are ceased except for three:
For absolutely all acts of worship, it is absolutely
imperative that the believers always follow what is Declared by Allah and
practiced by His Messenger (saws). There
is absolutely no evidence that the Messenger of Allah (saws), his noble family,
or any of his noble companions ever gathered people at the house of the
deceased after a certain number of days (1,3, 9, 10, 11, 40, etc.) to collectively
make dua, or recite the Glorious Quran, or perform the ‘fatihah’, or recite the
‘qull’, or perform the ‘tasbeeh’, or enjoy a feast in the name of the
deceased! Without an iota of a doubt,
such commemorations are no more than innovations which have unfortunately crept
into the pure and perfect deen of Islam; and the believers who sincerely fear
Allah and the Last Day must strive to absolutely abstain from all such
innovations.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a
sermon: “The best speech is that which
is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran;
and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the
innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If
anyone introduces an innovation (bida in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation (bida) or
gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (bida), he is cursed by
Allah, by His Angels, and by all the people!”
But what one can and must do is make constant supplication
for his deceased brother/sister in faith to the Merciful Lord, and beseech Him to be Merciful on the
departed soul, forgive his/her sins and grant them an honorable place in Paradise. This was the practice and the Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (saws).
Instead of visiting, consoling, helping, and assisting the
family of the deceased to come to terms with their grief, the ignorant amongst
the people burden them with such innovations as ‘fatihah’, and ‘qull’, and ‘tasbeeh’,
etc., where the deceased’s family are made to run around to accommodate the
gatherers, buy or borrow copies of the Quran which would be read over the
deceased, and prepare an enormous amount of food as a feast for those who
gather for such self-invented rituals!!
Not satisfied with putting this physical and financial burden upon the
bereaved family, some amongst the most ignorant even go to the extent of
repeating this innovated ritual on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
9th, 10th, 30th and 40th day of the
death of the deceased! Allah is our
witness, this innovated ritual of what is known today as ‘fatihah’ or ‘qull’ over
the deceased neither helps the deceased in any way whatsoever, nor does it help
console nor lightens the burden of the bereaved family!
But the ‘deen’ of mercy and the one who was sent as a
‘mercy to the worlds’, Prophet Mohamed (saws) guided the believers to earnestly
supplicate the Lord Most Merciful to have mercy on their deceased brother or
sister, help and assist the bereaved family in any and every which way they
can, feed them during these trying days, share their grief, and help them to
bring their lives back to normal as soon as possible.
If one trusts,
obeys, and follows the guidance
and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being
misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger
(saws), one can be assured of being led
astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan