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:

Assalam Alaikum

My first question is about reading the Quran and forgiving it to my grand parents who are not alive is this right to do?

My Second question is about Bank as my father is a bank employee and we are in saudi arabia. Here majority of Muslims work in bank. Is it right to work in bank? and can we donate the money to poor and neady onces through my father`s salary?

My Third question is can we say dua my seeing sky at the time of fajr, magrib and at the time of travelling?

Please Answer me
Thanks jazakallah 

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Answer:

Quran 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.

Your Question: …..My first question is about reading the Quran and forgiving it to my grand parents who are not alive is this right to do?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 185:

Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a Perfect Guidance for mankind and consists of clear Teachings which show the Right Way, and are a Criterion of the Truth and falsehood.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 89:

We have sent down to you this Book, which makes everything plain, and is a guidance, blessing and good news to those who have surrendered themselves entirely.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 41 Surah Ha Mim As Sajdaah verse 2-4:

This is a Revelation from the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful Allah. A Book whose verses are well-expounded, an Arabic Quran for the people who want to understand, and a giver of good news and a warner.

The Glorious Quran is a Book of Guidance revealed by the Lord Most Gracious so that those who hear and understand it are guided to the Right Path; thus guidance is only for those who are alive and giving their ‘test’ of life, not those who have given their test of life and passed away….for immediately after death, the exact Truth which the Lord Declares in His Quran is already manifest to them!

Thus sister, the recitation and contemplation of the guidance of the Quran can and does benefit only those who are alive; it does not and cannot benefit those who are deceased.

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:

1. continuous act of charity: ie. the charity done by the deceased like building a school, or a hospital, or a mosque, or a well, etc. which is still being utilized for the good of man even after his death….the deceased shall earn a reward for such continuous deeds of charity even after his death.
2. beneficial knowledge: ie. if the deceased strove and exhorted someone to believe and obey their Lord Creator, or the deceased gave someone a copy of the Glorious Quran, or some good advice, etc….then he will continue to receive the rewards of every good that person did on his advice.
3. righteous offspring: ie. the near and loved ones who constantly supplicate their Lord to forgive their deceased loved one.

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.

We absolutely assure you sister that there is absolutely no evidence that the Messenger of Allah (saws) ever recited the Quran for the benefit or for the forgiveness of the deceased; nor did he (saws) ever endorse such an act.

What one can and should do for their deceased loved one is make sincere supplications for them; beseech their Lord in all humility, and hope, and fear that the Lord Most Gracious shower them with His Mercy, bestow on them His Grace, forgive them their shortcomings and their sins, and grant them an honorable rank in the Hereafter.

Your Question: My Second question is about Bank as my father is a bank employee and we are in saudi arabia. Here majority of Muslims work in bank. Is it right to work in bank? and can we donate the money to poor and neady onces through my father`s salary?
Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, it is not that the system of banking in its essence has been declared haraam in Islam; but what Allah and His Messenger (saws) have specifically and categorically declared absolutely forbidden and haraam is the concept of ‘riba’ which is the base of all conventional interest-based banks.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 274-276:

But those who devour ‘riba’ become like the one whom Shaitaan has bewitched and maddened by his touch. They have been condemned to this condition because they say, “Trade is just like ‘riba”, whereas Allah has made trade halaal and ‘riba’ haraam. Henceforth, if one abstains from taking ‘riba’ after receiving this admonition from his Lord, no legal action shall be taken against him regarding the ‘riba’ he had devoured before: his case shall ultimately go to Allah. But if one repeats the same crime even after this, he shall go to Hell, where he shall abide for ever! Allah deprives ‘riba’ of all blessing and develops charity, and Allah does not like an ungrateful, sinful person.

Allah says further in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 278:

O Believers!, fear Allah and give up that ‘riba’ which is still due to you, if you are true believers. But if you do not do so, then you are warned of the declaration of war against you by Allah and His Messenger!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 161:

That they took ‘riba’, although they were forbidden. And that they devoured men’s substance wrongfully. We have prepared for those among them who reject faith a grievous punishment (of Hell Fire)!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib

Ali heard Allah's Messenger (saws) invoke the curse of Allah on those who took usury, those who paid it, those who recorded it, and those who refused to give sadaqah.

There is absolutely no doubt that the conventional banking system is based on the system of ‘riba’, and even though one working in a bank might not be involved himself in consuming ‘riba’, their working in such institutions would make them an accomplice in promoting and facilitating what has clearly been declared forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (saws).

One cannot say with absolute conviction that the earning of every person working in a conventional bank is unlawful or haraam; but if one facilitates any business which deals exclusively in what has been specifically declared as ‘haraam’ or unlawful by Allah and His Messenger (saws), like ‘riba’, prostitution, pornography, intoxicants, etc., then without an iota of a doubt, one would indeed have a due share in the sin according to one’s level of participation.

Your Question: …….can we donate the money to poor and neady onces through my father`s salary?

Sahih Muslim Hadith 2214 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘O people, Allah is Good and He, therefore, accepts only that which is good and pure!’

One may indeed spend on the poor and needy, but if one wishes that one receive the reward for their charity, it is absolutely imperative that the wealth one spends must be from their lawful earnings alone.

Your Question: ….My Third question is can we say dua my seeing sky at the time of fajr, magrib and at the time of travelling?
Beloved Sister, we sincerely apologize for we are not entirely sure what you wish to clarify in this question.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.91b

Abu Hurairah (r.a.) reports that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Those who raise their sight to the sky during the ‘salah’ (prayer) should stop doing so, or their sight may be taken away."

This is related by Ahmad, Muslim, and an-Nasa'i.

Although there is absolutely no restriction if one looks up at the skies or the heavens at any time, in light of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), it is absolutely disliked and discouraged that one look up to the skies when one is in the state of prayer.

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