Amals After A Muslim Passes Away

Upon the death of a person, it is a common practice to make recitation of a few Ayats of the Qur'an followed by a Du'a for the deceased. There are many Ahadith expounding the virtues of recitingthe Qur'an and making Du'a.

There are also many Ahadith describing the sending of the reward of a certain action to the deceased. Surely, the deceased eagerly await for rewards from his beloved wife, parents and friends by them making du'a forhis forgiveness, giving charity, etc. on his behalf.

However, in order for the deceased to benefit from the gifts of his beloved, they must be channelled to him in the correct way, i.e. by the way of our beloved Prophet SAW.

During the time of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, many deaths occurred. It was his noble habit to comfort the bereaved families and widows. Many Sahabah RA enquired from the Prophet SAW about sending Sawaab to their deceased.

It is not proven on anyone occasion that the Prophet SAW himself practised or ordered the customary practise of any ritual e.g. Tahlil in Malaysia and Fateha in the Indian-Subcontinent.

Had the customary practise of these rituals been of any significance, Rasulullah SAW would have surely practised it at least once in his lifetime, or ordered its practice at least once in his lifetime.

To emphasise and carry out a particular practice not proven in Shari'ah, for example, Tahlil and Fateha leads to distortion of Deen. Many people may regard the practise as necessary and an integral part of Deen as is the case among many unwary people today.

Any practise which leads to a possible distortion of Deen is prohibited and a major sin.

Obviously, such a practise leading to sin invokes the anger of Allah. How can such a practice benefit the deceased?

The only way to benefit the deceased is to send Thawaab (reward of actions) to him by carrying out acts of virtue, for example, reciting The Qur'an, making Du'a for him, giving charity, etc. as advised by our beloved Rasulullah SAW.