"Celebrating birthdays or anniversaries, or commemorating death-days is a culture of and specific to the pagans.
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One of our brothers/sisters has asked
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Assalam alikum wa
rehmatullahe wa barakatuhu!
May Allah`s support make you have prosperity i neveyr walk of your life!
My Question:-
I just read one of
Please let me know is it not an Islamic way to commemorate death days as in
how should we celebrate the death days of our relatives and our beloved Propeht
(Peace be upon him) and His (Peace be upon him) noble companions?
reply soon
Allah hafiz
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Answer:
Commemorate death
deceased anniversaries
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.
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.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- righteous
offspring: ie. the near and loved ones who constantly supplicate their
Lord to forgive their deceased loved one.
For absolutely all acts of worship, it is absolutely
imperative that the believers always follow what is Declared by Allah and
practiced by His Messenger (saws). There
is absolutely no evidence that the Messenger of Allah (saws), his noble family,
or any of his noble companions ever gathered people at the house of the
deceased after a certain number of days (1,3, 9, 10, 11, 40, etc.) to
collectively make dua, or recite the Glorious Quran, or perform the ‘fatihah’,
or recite the ‘qull’, or perform the ‘tasbeeh’, or enjoy a feast in the name of
the deceased! Without an iota of a
doubt, such commemorations are no more than innovations which have
unfortunately crept into the pure and perfect deen of Islam; and the believers
who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day must strive to absolutely abstain
from all such innovations.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a
sermon: “The best speech is that which
is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran;
and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the
innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If
anyone introduces an innovation (bida in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation (bida) or
gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (bida), he is cursed by
Allah, by His Angels, and by all the people!”
But what one can and must do is make constant supplication
for his deceased brother/sister in faith to the Merciful Lord, and beseech Him to be Merciful on the
departed soul, forgive his/her sins and grant them an honorable place in
Paradise. This was the practice and the
Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
Instead of visiting, consoling, helping, and assisting the
family of the deceased to come to terms with their grief, the ignorant amongst
the people burden them with such innovations as ‘fatihah’, and ‘qull’, and
‘tasbeeh’, etc., where the deceased’s family are made to run around to
accommodate the gatherers, buy or borrow copies of the Quran which would be
read over the deceased, and prepare an enormous amount of food as a feast for
those who gather for such self-invented rituals!! Not satisfied with putting this physical and
financial burden upon the bereaved family, some amongst the most ignorant even
go to the extent of repeating this innovated ritual on the 1st, 2nd,
3rd, 9th, 10th, 30th and 40th
day of the death of the deceased! Allah
is our witness, this innovated ritual of what is known today as ‘fatihah’ or
‘qull’ over the deceased neither helps the deceased in any way whatsoever, nor
does it help console nor lightens the burden of the bereaved family!
But the ‘deen’ of mercy and the one who was sent as a
‘mercy to the worlds’, Prophet Mohamed (saws) guided the believers to earnestly
supplicate the Lord Most Merciful to have mercy on their deceased brother or
sister, help and assist the bereaved family in any and every which way they
can, feed them during these trying days, share their grief, and help them to
bring their lives back to normal as soon as possible.
Your Question: Please
let me know is it not an Islamic way to commemorate death days as in
Allah says
in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa
verse 79-80:
We have sent you (O Mohamed) as a Messenger to
mankind, and Allah’s witness suffices
for this. Whoever obeys the Messenger,
in fact obeys Allah, and whoever turns
away from him, he will be accountable for his deeds. Anyhow,
we have not sent you (O Mohamed) to be a guardian over them.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imran verse 31-32:
O Prophet,
tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me.
Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His
Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love
those, who refuse to obey Him and His
Messenger.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example for you to
follow in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah
and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.
Beloved brother, a deed or act or rite or ritual will only
be considered ‘Islamic’ only if, and we reiterate again, only if it is endorsed
by Allah and His Messenger (saws); and we absolutely assure you in the Name of
Allah that the Messenger of Allah (saws) or his noble companions never never
ever commemorated the death days or anniversaries of anyone with any such rites
or rituals whatsoever!
Right will always remain right, regardless if no one does
it; and wrong will remain wrong, regardless if the whole world is doing
it!!! Thus the determination of right
and wrong is never based upon who or how many people are practicing a deed or
act or rite or ritual….but right and wrong is determined by what is endorsed by
the Lord in His Glorious Quran and by His Messenger (saws) in the authentic and
established Sunnah.
Your Question: …..how
should we celebrate the death days of our relatives and our beloved Propeht
(Peace be upon him) and His (Peace be upon him) noble companions?
If one celebrates or
commemorates the death anniversary of their deceased loved ones, or of the
noble Prophet (saws), or of any of his companions, or anyone in the annuls of
mankind for that matter, with a religious connotation, rite, or ritual (qull,
fatihah, tasbeeh, hutum, feast, etc.), assuming that such self-invented rites
and rituals are a part of the deen of Islam, or that they would bring any benefit to the deceased, or
assuming that such rites and rituals would earn them the Pleasure of their
Lord…..without an iota of a doubt, they would be guilty of inventing and
following a ‘bidah’ or innovation….and every single innovation in the pure and
perfect deen of Islam is an error and a grave sin in the Sight of the Lord Most
High.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a
sermon: “The best speech is that which
is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran;
and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the
innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
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
Wister