Fatiha
Sunnah or Bidah?
‘Shaytan will do
everything to distract you from reading this book, however,
you should fight him and read it to the end, Insha-Allah you
will benefit from this!’
All praise be to
Allah, Lord of the worlds, Who has disposed all matters
through His arrangements thereof, Who has fairly composed
His creation and given it excellent form, good structure and
proportion.
Is
There Any Evidence From The Qur’an Of Isal-e-Sawab?
Is
There Any Evidence From The Hadith Of Isal-e-Sawab?
Is
There Any Evidence From The Pious Of Isal-e-Sawab?
People Place Food At Times When Performing Isal-e-Sawaab?
Decide for yourself, is Fatiha a Sunnah or a Bidah (innovation)?
Definition
The definition and
meaning of “Isal” is “to send” and “Sawaab”
means “the reward for the deed” or “that which a
person is entitled for forgiveness and the mercy of Allah
(The Exalted) or the intercession of the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace).”
(
Is
There Any Evidence From The Qur’an Of Isal-e-Sawab?
Let us take a look at few verses from the Qur’an that permit the sending of Isal-e-Sawab.
1) “O our Lord,
forgive me and my parents and all Muslims on the Day when
reckoning shall take place.”
(Surah Ibrahim: Surah No: 14. Verse: 41)
We find from this that not only do the people of the past benefit but also the people to come too benefit from supplication. This is what Isal-e-Sawwab is, making supplication for the dead as well as the living.
2) “Those who
bear[1]
the Throne and those around[2]
it sanctify their Lord with praise and believe in Him and
beg forgiveness for the Muslims…”
(Surah
We find from this
verse that the intercession of angels is a certainty,
because even today they are praying for the forgiveness of
the believers both living and the dead.
(Nur-ul-Irfan)
3) “And those who came after them submit, O our Lord! Forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in the faith…” (Surah Hashr: Surah No: 59. Verse: 10)
This verse is telling the believers to supplicate for those before who past away until the day of judgement. Not only that but also the supplication in this verse is made by the living to the dead. Hence, we find that to pray for the dead benefits the dead.
Conclusion Of The
Verses
The conclusion of the above three verses is that the supplication of the believers be it for the living or the dead benefits them. The angles make supplication for the believers both the living and the dead and the supplication for the dead by the living benefits them. So Isal-e-Sawaab is a teaching from the Qur’an.
Is
There Any Evidence From The Hadith Of Isal-e-Sawab?
‘
Accordingly the
sheep was bought for sacrifice. The Messenger of Allah (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) said “O ‘Aisha (may
Allah be pleased with her) bring a knife”
then he said “Sharpen it on some stone”
so I sharpened it and he took the knife holding the sheep,
laid it on the ground and began to sacrifice, then he said
“With the name of Allah, O Allah accept it on behalf of
Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the
family of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and the followers of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace), then he sacrificed it.””
(Muslim: Chapter on
A Garden For Isal-e-Sawaab
A man came to the
Prophet Muhammad [may Allah bless him and grant him peace]
and said ‘My mother has suddenly died and she did not leave
any will, but I suspect that if she did that then she would
have told me to give something to charity. Now if I offer
something in charity on her behalf, will she get the
reward?’
Compensation For
Sins
Sa’d bin ‘Ubada (may
Allah be pleased with him) said “O Messenger of Allah (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) my mother has passed
away, which type of charity will be better?” The Messenger
of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said
“Water.” Hence, he got a well dug and said “This is for Umme-e-Sa’d
(for the mother of Sa’d).” (Sunnan
No Reduction In
Reward
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said “Whosoever amongst you gives voltentry charity give it on behalf of your parents as both will be rewarded and the senders reward will not be reduced.” (Tabarani)
Benefiting The
Deceased
Ibn ‘Abbas (may
Allah be pleased with him) states that “The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would advice
the friends, family and brothers to make supplication, give
in charity, worship and would say that all these would
benefit the deceased.” (
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “When
a person dies, his deeds die with him, except for three:
charitable donation, beneficial knowledge, and righteous
children who supplicate on his behalf.”
(Muslim)
Conclusion Of The
Hadith Mentioned
We find that Isal-e-Sawaab is permissible and is the Sunnah (practise) of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as well as the companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) which is proven from all the above hadith.
In the first hadith mentioned we find that Isal-e-Sawaab can be performed for the living, the dead, those before us and those yet to come too.
In both the hadith
by Ibn ‘Abbas,
Whether Isal-e-Sawaab be in the form of worship, finance or both they can be sent as Isal-e-Sawaab.
From the hadith by
Is
There Any Evidence From The Pious Of Isal-e-Sawab?
“Will never leave
this”
Hansh (may Allah be
pleased with him) narrates ‘
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is the son in law, cousin, the fourth caliph of Islam, from the ten people (‘Ashra Mubasharah) who where given the good news of Paradise in this world by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked him to do this dead. We should follow our respected piers in Islam and what they practised in order to be successful in both the worlds.
It is narrated that
These are the grandsons of the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) who are the leaders of the
youth of
Palace In
Malik bin dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) states “I once went to the cemetery on a Thursday night I saw a shinning light, I said ‘There is no deity except Allah’ (La ilaha Illalla) I think Allah (The Exalted) has forgiven the people of the cemetery.” All of a sudden I heard a voice from the unseen saying “O Malik! This is a gift from the believers to the people of the cemetery.”
I said “I swear by the One who gave you the ability to talk tell me what that gift is?” It replied “Today a person performed proper ablution (wudhu), offered two cycles (Rakah of nafl-voltentry) prayer and in every cycle (rakaah) after Surah Fatiha he recited Qulya Ayyuhal Kafiroon (Surah Kafiroon) and Qul Huwallahu Ahad (Surah Ikhlas). He then said ‘O Allah! I present the reward of these two cycles of prayer to the people of this cemetery” (from the blessings of this) Allah (The Exalted) gave us light, happiness and (made our graves) spacious from the East to West.”
Malik bin Dinar (may Allah have mercy upon him) said
“After this I began to pray these two cycles every Thursdays
to the extent I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) in a dream and he said “O Malik!
Allah (The Exalted) has forgiven you as the same number of
lights you sent as a gift to my followers, you will be
rewarded and Allah (The Exalted) has built a palace in
A Dream
A pious person saw
his deceased brother in a dream and asked him “Dose the
supplications of the living reach you?” He replied “Yes, I
swear by Allah (The Exalted) it comes in the form of an
enlightened dress which we wear.”
(
We find that the pious people of the Ummah of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would also practise Isal-e-Sawaab too, hence we should follow these pious people.
There is no specific
time for sending Isal-e-Sawaab. However, two things are
worthy of mention: 1) After a person has passed away, it is
desirable (Mustahab) to give charity for 7 days.
2)
Shaykh Ahmad Raza
Khan writes “Shaykh-ul-Islam from whom the veils where
lifted to see the deceased, in part eight writes that “It
states in Gharaaib and Khazana that every Thursday
night, the day of Eid, the day of ‘Ashura (10th
Muharram) and the night of Baraat (15th Shabaan)
the souls of the Muslims stand outside their house and
proclaim aloud “O people of my house! O my children! O my
relatives! Give in charity and do us a favour.”””
(Fatawa-e-Razawiya. Vol: 9)
We find that there is no specific time in the Islamic Law (Shariah), however, there are times such as special nights when the deceased plead for reward. We can send Isal-e-Sawaab at anytime and do it as often as possible is better.
3rd, 7th,
40th Day and 1 Year etc?
The question arises that if there is no specific time for Isal-e-Sawaab then why do people perform Isal-e-Sawaab on the 3rd, 7th and 40th day and ever year?
The answer to this is that there is no specific time for this in the Islamic law (Shariah) hence, the scholars and general Muslims to make it easy for people have fixed these days. Just as the congregational (Jam’aat) prayers have a set time to make it easy for the local Muslims to come into the Masjid and offer the 5 times prayers in congregation. There is no set time in the Islamic law for this; this is why two Masjids in the same area have different congregational prayer times for peoples’ convenience. So Isal-e-Sawaab can be performed at any time.
Is There Any
Evidence For Fixing Days For Such Things?
Yes, for instance, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would prefer to travel on Thursdays. (Bukhari)
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would go to the Masjid-e-Quba on Saturdays and so did ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). (Bukhari)
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) would gather people and give them advice every Thursdays. (Bukhari)
There is a prayer (Dua) said for the deceased for this we can fix a time that suits our self. We can give charity for them, keep fast for them and also we can get together and read Qur’an for them. For the people who get together and read Qur’an, we could be hospitable by providing for them by giving food and drink. This is all done with the intention of Sawab (blessings). For example, when Islamic circles are held, there are usually refreshments held after and this is carried out with the intention of blessings. This is one way of doing Isal-e-Sawab. There are many other ways of doing Isal-e-Sawab.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would teach the women behind a veil one specific day a week and the men on another day.
We find that it is for peoples’ convenience and the Shariah does not condemn it. If the Qur’an or Hadith have specified a particular time for worship then it should be done and if not then you can’t but for Isal-e-Sawaab neither a time is specified nor does it place a restriction.
People Place Food
At Times When Performing Isal-e-Sawaab, Is this necessary?
No, not at all. However, if food is place in front then there are many Sunnats that can be practised i.e. to perform Isal-e-Sawaab, by placing food in front, supplicating and reciting parts of the Qur’an brings blessings in the food, as did the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) once feeding 70 to 80 people as narrated in Bukhari.
Rewards Of
Isal-e-Sawaab
After reading the evidence of Isal-e-Sawaab let us look at what rewards there are for sending Isal-e-Sawaab. If one or both of your parents, a member of the family, relative or a friend have passed away, do not be headless towards them, go to their grave and continue to send them rewards (Isal-e-Sawaab).
Whosoever with the
intention of receiving reward visits the grave of one or
both of their parents they will receive the reward of an
accepted Hajj and whosoever visits their grave regularly,
the angles will visit the person’s (who visited their
parents) grave (when they die).
(
Whosoever from
amongst you gives voltentry (in charity) then do it on
behalf of your parents as they will receive the reward and
the person (giving charity) will not get his reward reduced.
(
Prophet Muhammad
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace( has said, The
status of the deceased is raised (during their time in the
grave), and the deceased ask Allah (Almighty.) why has this
happened, Allah (The Exalted) replies that your son has
prayed for your forgiveness. (Al-Adab,
It is quoted in the Hadith that those who pray ‘
We find from the above that it states in the books of Hadith
as well as books of Islamic Law which have been written over
1,300 years ago that there is major reward in Isal-e-Sawaab.
Devoid Of
Blessings
When a person
doesn’t supplicate for his parents their wealth is reduced.
(
Some people are so busy that they don’t have time. They are more interested in earning. No matter how hard one works, if you don’t supplicate then your wealth will have no blessings, may Allah (The Exalted) give us the ability to make supplication, Ameen.
Forgiveness
Whosoever on Friday
visits the grave of their parents or either one of them and
recites Surah Yaseen will be forgiven.
(Ibn ‘Adi, Vol, 6, Page 260.)
If you can’t go on a Friday then try to go on Thursday evenings or another day.
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) states that
“My followers will enter their grave with sins and when they
come out, they will be sinless because they will have been
forgiven with the supplications of the believers.”
(Tabarani, Vol. 1, Page 509. Hadith
1879)
May Allah (The Exalted) give us the ability to help the deceased Muslims who have passed away and may the Muslims who are yet to come do the same for us, Ameen.
The Gift
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that
“The state of the deceased in the grave is the same as a
person drowning, as he desperately waits that his father,
mother, brother or friend supplicates for him (the deceased)
and when a supplication reaches the deceased it is more
better to the deceased then the whole world and what it
contains. Allah (The Exalted) gives the deceased a gift of
the reward on behalf of the deceases associates’ equivalent
to the mountains. The gift of the living is the supplication
of forgiveness for the deceased.”
(Bayahaqi.
When someone sends
reward to the deceased, Angel Gabriel (upon whom be peace)
places it in an enlightened container and stands at the
corner of the grave and says “O you in the grave! This has
been sent to you as a gift from the people of your house,
except it!” The deceased is pleased hearing this and those
resting near by are saddened. (
The Reward
Whosoever makes
supplication for the believing deceased, for both men and
women, Allah (The Exalted) writes for the person the reward
equivalent to the number of believing deceased men and women.
(
Whosoever recites
Surah Ikhlas (
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that
“Whosoever passes a cemetery and prays Surah Fatiha, Surah
Ikhlas, Surah Takathur and then supplicates in the
following manner, “O Allah (The Exalted)! Whatever Qur’an I
have prayed give the reward to the believing men and women.”
The deceased in the grave will intercede for the person on
the day of judgment.” (
We find from the
above that sending Isal-e-Sawaab is a very rewarding act. We
have mentioned evidence from the Qur’an, Hadith, the
companions; the pious and the virtues of Isal-e-Sawaab, may
Allah (The Exalted) give us the ability to practise this
rewarding and benefiting deed, Ameen.
Points Of Sending Reward To The Dead
1) You can send the reward of Fardh, Wajib, Sunnah, Voltentry be it for Salaah, Fasting, Hajj, Zakah, Lillah (for the pleasure of Allah), listening to lectures, or giving lectures, giving Dawah, travelling for religious purpose, reading religious books, in fact any rewarding act you can send the reward to the deceased.
2) You can send the rewards to the living as well as the dead. You can send the rewards to the Muslims who aren’t even born yet.
3) You can send the reward to a child of a day old.
4) You can send the reward to the Muslim Jinns (creation of the unseen) too.
5) You can put aside money for printing books or buy books and distribute them with the intention of sending the reward to someone. Until a person reads and practises or passes the knowledge on you and the deceased will be rewarded for it. It is not necessary to print in a book the name of the deceased. You can purchase books and distribute them free simply making the intention in the heart to whom you are sending the reward to is sufficient.
6) No matter how many people you send the reward to the reward will be given in full and not distributed amongst the deceased.
7) The person sending the reward will gain the full reward to those who he sends the reward to i.e. if a person performs a deed that has 10 rewards and he sends this to 10 people then the sender will get 100 rewards.
8) You can only send the reward (Isal-e-Sawaab) to the Muslims.
9) To give money to the mosques is a good deed. However, the intention should not be that I let people know how much I have given. By giving something (money, food or gifts etc.) with a firm intention in the heart is sufficient. It is better to give £1 in secret then to give £1000 and to announce it. However, if you give with the intention that if I get it mention of then it will motivate others to give then this is encouraged.
10) It is better to give money for printing Islamic literature then to give money for food. Reason being is that people will benefit from knowledge until it is practised and the person giving can benefit generations after generations. As with food it will only benefit the person eating it. If food is prepared for the poor then it is also very good but in the West where people are not in need of food it is better to spread knowledge of the religion. People spend anything between £10-£500 for feeding those who don’t need it, by giving this type of money be it only £5 for literature will benefit many Insha-Allah!
The Method Of Fatiha
To place food and recite over it and sending the reward is good. Take some of all the food that has been prepared with a glass of water and place it in front of you. Now recite the following:
1) Surah Kafiroon
once (
2) Surah Ikhlas
three times (
3) Surah Falaq once
(
4) Surah Naas once (
5 Surah Fatiha (
6) First section (ruku) of Surah Baqarah,
7) Then recite the following
8) Recite Salawat (Durood) and then the following
9) Now raise your hands and say ‘Al-Fatiha’ aloud. All those who are present recite Surah Fatiha so that you can hear it yourself.
Before mentioning the method of supplication, we will mention the method of Fatiha that Shaykh Ahmad Raza Khan recited: He prayed Surah Fatiha once, Ayat-ul-Kursi once and Surah Ikhlas three times. This was a simple method he used. One can recite anything from the Qur’an and send the reward be it only Surah Fatiha on its own. Al-Kamal ibn al-Humam al-Hanafi states that every single act of worship, including Qur’an-recitation, can be offered to the deceased. (Al-Kamal ibn al-Humam al-Hanafi, Fath al-Qadir).
Even Ibn Taymiyya[3]
said, “The sound position is that the deceased gets the
benefit of all kinds of bodily worship whether prayer,
fasting, or recitation, just as he gets the benefit of acts
of monetary worship such as sadaqa and its like and just as
if one supplicated on his behalf.”
(
From the authentic
Hadith, there is evidence pointing out that the deceased
person will gain rewards from all the good deeds carried out
on his/her behalf by others. Some people raise the
objection that a person can only gain reward from their own
actions, and refer to the Qur’an [for evidence]. This is not
correct. Firstly, because a Muslim receives the reward
of those deeds that he /she has never done themselves [for
example]: like Allah says in the Qur’an that the
Secondly, we know
that Allah (The Exalted) rewards us through the deeds of
other people, which are carried out on our behalf.
An example is where the
Method of supplication
O Allah! Whatever we have prayed (if there is food present then include that too) to the extent whatever good actions we have done up to know, it is not worth anything but make it worthy with Your mercy. O Allah! Send this reward to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). O Allah! Send this reward to all the Prophets (upon them all be peace), the companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), all the Muslims from Prophet Adam (upon whom be peace) to the number of Muslims who have passed away and who will be created till the day of judgement, send this reward to the Muslim humans and Muslim jinn (mention the names of those who you want to send the reward to also send the reward to your friends as when their names are mentioned they are pleased) as per normal complete the supplication with Salawaat (durood) and
(If food is present then place it in the main containers for blessings).
Bibliography
1)
2)
Isal-e-sawaab.
(Urdu) By
3)
Nur-ul-Irfan. (Tafseer
of the Qur’an). By Mufti
4)
Rules of Islamic
Law. (English) (Qanoon-e-Shariah - Urdu). Translated by
5)
6)
Encyclopaedia of Islamic
Doctrine. By
7)
8)
Islamic Belief. (
9)
“The Holy
Qur’an”. an English Translation from ‘
[1] Meaning the angles.
[2] Those angels who circumambulate the Throne.
[3] Whom the Salafis/Wahabis/Deoband’s look up to.