Part 14

And Ibn ul-Qayyim () comments on ‘A’ishah’s above hadith by saying:

“One group (of scholars) generalizes this, and says that both the vowed and missed obligatory fasting should be made up for the deceased. Another group rejects this and says that no fasting may be made up for him. A third group is more specific in saying that only the vowed fasting, but not the obligatory fasting, should be

1 Recorded by Abi Dawid and Ibn Hazm. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Ahkam ul-Jan@ iz 215).

2 Shariah or Shar’: Islamic law and instructions.

3. Ahkam ul-Jand@iz 215-216.

fasted on his behalf. This is the opinion of Ibn ‘Abbas and his followers, and is the correct opinion.

Just as it is not possible for one to pray on behalf of another, or embrace Islam on his behalf, the same is true about fasting. As for a vow, it represents a committed obligation similar to a debt. Thus, the wali’s execution is acceptable, as in the case of the debt. This is the pure understanding (of this issue).

By the same token, it is not possible to perform hajj (pilgrimage) or zakah (obligatory charity) on behalf of the deceased unless he had an acceptable excuse in delaying that. This is similar to a wali’s feeding the needy on behalf of the one who broke his fast in Ramadan with a valid excuse. But as for the one who neglected his obligations without a valid excuse, it would not help him that others perform his neglected obligations, because he was the one required to perform them as a test for him — not the wali. Thus, no one may repent on behalf of someone else, nor accept Islam, nor perform the prayers or other obligations that he neglected until death.” !

Payment of the Deceased’s Debts

The deceased’s debts should be paid off immediately after his death. The wali should use whatever wealth the deceased had left behind. If that is exhausted, he should seek the help of relatives and friends of the deceased who are capable of helping in paying off the rest of the debt. There is a number of hadiths in this regard that we have included in Part 3 of this series. We mention one of them here for reference. Sa‘d Bin al-Atwal (<%) reported that his brother died, leaving behind three hundred dirhams and children. He wanted to spend the money on his brother’s children, but the Prophet (&) told him:

1 Flam ul-Muwaggi'in 3:554.

Life in Al-Barzakh 93 Things that Benefit the Dead

A Muslim’s du‘a@ for a dead Muslim tremendously benefits both of them. When it is done correctly, truthfully, and sincerely, it reflects a high level of brotherhood and concern; and it eliminates the factor of showoff which can potentially destroy the good deeds. Allah ($8) says:

“Ubadah (4) reported that Allah’s Messenger (4%) said:

<Whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and women, Allah records for him a good deed for every believing man and woman. *

<A Muslim’s supplication for his brother in his absence is acceptable. An angel is appointed to stand by his head; every time he invokes something good

1 Recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and al-Bayhaqi. Verified to be authentic by alAlbani (Ahkam ul-Jandiz 26).

3. Recorded by At-Tabarani in al-Kabir, verified to be hasan by al-Albani (Sahih ul-

for his brother, the appointed angels says, “Amin '; and the same be given to you.”> ”

Guarding in Allah’s Way

As has been previously demonstrated (p. 66) Standing guard in the way of Allah (88) benefits a person after his death. Fudalah Bin “‘Ubayd and ‘Ugbah Bin ‘Amir (t#) reported that Allah’s Messenger (#*) said:

Calling to a forgotten Sunnah or fighting an established bid‘ah are among the most important charitable deeds that a person can do during his lifetime. They help revive Allah’s Din and enable other people to follow it clean and pure, as it was revealed to Muhammad (48).

Jarir Bin ‘Abdillah (<8) reported that they (the companions) were with Allah’s Messenger (#) in the middle of the day when a group of people arrived (from outside al-Madinah) to see him. They were barefoot, (almost) naked, wearing only woolen lined cloth pieces or cloaks, armed with swords, wearing no izdrs * or anything else beside that. Most or all of them were from (the tribe of) Mudar. The face of Allah’s Messenger (8) changed (reflecting sadness) when he noticed their extreme poverty. He went in (to his house), then came out. He commanded Bilal to give athan (prayer announcement), prayed zuhr

This means, “O my Lord! Answer me!”

2 Muslim and others.

3. Recorded by Ahmad, Abi Dawiid, at-Tirmithi, and others; verified to be authentic by al-Albant (Sahih ul-Jami' no. 4562).

4 Izar: a plain piece of clothing tied around the lower section of the body.

Life in Al-Barzakh 95 Things that Benefit the Dead

(midday prayer), then mounted a small minbar (steps). He gave a khutbah (speech) in which he praised and thanked Allah, and then said:

<After this, (I say that) Allah has revealed in His book:

And He (#8) says:

= [Hately JO col gs

(disobeyed) Allah, and He caused them to forget themselves. Those are the disobedient. Not equal are

Spend (in Allah’s way) before you are prevented from spending. Let a man spend of his dinars, dirhams, clothes, measure of wheat, barley, or dates.>

Until he (&) said:

Observing the people’s slow response, the Prophet’s (#) face showed signs of anger. But then, one man from the Ansdr came with a parcel full (of money) of silver and gold, which he could hardly hold in his palm. He handed it to Allah’s Messenger (#), while he was still on the minbar, and said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Take this in Allah’s way.” He (4) took it. Abi Bakr (<) then stood and gave something. Then ‘Umar (2) gave something. Then the rest of the Muhdjrin and Ansar gave. Thus people followed each other in giving charity: This would give a dinar, this a dirham, this such, and this such — until there were two piles of food and clothes; and the face of Allah’s Messenger (#4) lighted up with a reddish-golden color. So he said:

He (8) then recited:

Life in Al-Barzakh 97 Things that Benefit the Dead

And he divided what was collected among them (the poor people from Mudar). ?

From the above discussion, we can conclude that:

1. A person’s deeds are sealed by his death. Nothing that takes place after that can affect his records.

2. The exception to the above rule is that anything, good or bad, that takes place after a person’s death, which he contributed to its occurrence in any manner during his lifetime, will appear in his records in proportion with his contribution to it.

2. This combined report is taken from Muslim, Ahmad, and others (ahkam ul-Jana@iz

Ahkam ul-Jan@izi wa-Bida'uha (The Regulations of Funerals, and Innovations Thereof), Muhammad Nasir ud-Din il-Albani, Maktabat ulMa‘arif, Riyadh, 1993.

Al-Ayat ul-Bayyindt, Fi, ‘Adami Sama‘ il-Amwat (The Clear Signs Concerning the Inability of the Dead to Hear), Nu‘man Bin Mahmiid al-Aliisi and Muhammad Nasir ud-Din il-Albani, 1398 H (1977).

Al-Mawt, ‘Izatuhu wa-Ahkamuh (Death, Its Lessons and Legislations), “Alt Hasan ‘Abdulhamid al-Halabi.

Al-Qabr, ‘Athabuhit wa-Na‘tmuh (The Grave, Its Tortures and Pleasures), Husayn al-‘Awayshah.

An-Nadaémat ul-Kubraé (The Great Regret), Muhammad Shiiman arRamli, Dar Ibn ‘Affan, al-Khubar, Saudi Arabia, 1994.

An-Nathir us-Sarikh Hawl al-Mawti wa-Ahl il-Barazikh (The Outcrying Warner Regarding Death and the People of al-Barzakh), Muhammad Bin ‘Abdillah ‘Alt al-Hakami, Dar ul-Majtama‘, Jeddah, 1995.

‘Athab ul-Qabri wa-Na‘tmuh, wa-lzat ul-Mawt (The Tortures and Pleasures of the Grave, and the Lesson of Death), ‘Abdullatif ‘Ashir.

Ma Yanfa‘ ul-Muslima ba‘da Wafatih (That Which Benefits a Muslim after His Death), Ibrahim Bin Muhammad, Maktabat us-Sahabah, Tanta, Egypt, 1987.

Sharh us-Sunnah (The Explanation of Sunnah), Al-Baghawi.

INDEX OF ARABIC TERMS

Al-Bayt ul-Ma‘mir 54 Kafara

Index of Arabic Terms

Tarbiyah Tasfiyah Thikr Ummah Wali Zakiah Zamzam Zina