The ruling on the 2 actions associated with death

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

And Allaah is the Granter of success.