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:

I will really be very grateful if you will be kind enough to answer my following questions:

1. Can we ask for our prayers from our deceased parents - in particularly from our mother?

2. How to ask for forgiveness from our deaseased mother for any wrong doings that we may have done to her in life.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Make dua for parents

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.

Q-1: Can we ask for our prayers from our deceased parents - in particularly from our mother?

Abu Hurairah reported, "The Prophet (saws) said, 'When a person dies all his good deeds cease except for three:

1. a continuous act of charity (which the deceased did in his lifetime),
2. beneficial knowledge (which the deceased left behind),
3. and a righteous son (children) who prays for him'.''

Related by Muslim and Abu Dawood.

It is not permissible and categorically forbidden in Islam to invoke or call upon or supplicate anyone in the ‘unseen’ except Allah Subhanah Alone; for that then would be a manifest form of the absolute abomination and unforgiveable crime of ‘shirk’ in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

One is not allowed or permitted to ask, or invoke, or make supplications ‘from’ their deceased parents (or anyone else in creation for that matter!)…..but it is absolutely encouraged and a duty unto a believing off-spring that they make as many supplications as they will and please unto their Lord Most Merciful ‘for’ their deceased believing parents (and loved ones).

Here are some of the supplications which the Messenger of Allah (saws) made for the deceased beleivers unto the Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful:

1. Abu Hurairah said: ‘The Prophet (saws) prayed in one of the funeral prayers: ‘Allahumma anta Rubbuha wa ant khalaqtaha wa anta razaqtaha wa ant hadaytaha lil lslam wa anta qabadata ruha-ha wa anta alamu bisirriha wa 'alaniyatiha. Ji'nashuf'ala-hafaghfir laha zanbaha"

(Oh Allah ! You are her Sustainer, You are her Creator, You provided her with sustenance, guided her to Islam, caused her to die, and You best know her secret and public life. We plead to You on her behalf to forgive her her sins.)

2. Wa'ilah ibn al-Asqa reported: "The Prophet (saws) led us in a funeral prayer for a man from among the Muslims. I heard him saying: ‘Allahumma inna fulana ibna fulan fi dhimatika wa habla jawaraka, fa-qihu min fitnatal qabri wa adhabin nar wa anta ahlal wafa' wal haq, allahumma faghfirlahu war-rahmhufa innaka antal ghafurur Raheem.’ Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawood.

(O Allah! So-and-so, son of so-and-so, is under Your protection and Mercy, so protect him from the trials of the grave, and the torture of Hell Fire. You are the Guardian of the truthful and the faithful. OAllah! Forgive him and be merciful to him, as You are the Most Merciful, Most Forgiving.)

3. Awf ibn Malik reported: "I heard the Prophet (saws) while offering a funeral prayer, say: ‘Allahumma-ghfir lahu war-rhamhu wa'fu anhu wa 'afahu wa akrim nuzulahu wa wassi' mudkhalahu waghsilhu bi-ma' ind wa thalj wa barad wa naqi minal khataya kama yunaqi athaubudanas minad danas wa abdilhu daran khairan min darihi wa ahlan khairan min ahlihi wa zaujan khairan min zaujihi wa qih fitnatal qabr wa adhaban nar.’ Related by Muslim.

(O Allah! Forgive him, have Mercy on him, pardon him, heal him, be generous to him, cause his entrance to be wide and comfortable, wash him with the most pure and clean water, and purify him from sins as a white garment is washed clean of dirt. Give him in exchange a home better than his home (on earth) and a family better than his family, and a wife better than his wife, and protect him from the trial of the grave and the torture of Hell Fire.)

Your Question: How to ask for forgiveness from our deaseased mother for any wrong doings that we may have done to her in life.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71:

The (true) servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the ignorant people behave insolently towards them, they say, “Peace to you”; (And those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save us from the torment of Hell, for its torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly, but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but Allah Alone, nor kill a soul unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall be punished for his sin, and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good deeds, and He is very Forgiving and Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly should!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2338 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah accepts a servant's repentance (taubah) till he gives up his spirit in death."

If one has wronged one’s own soul through the commission of a sin, one should turn unto their Lord in ‘taubah’ and seek sincere forgiveness for their transgressions.

If one has wronged one in creation and that person is alive, it would only be piety and righteousness in the Sight of the Lord that one seek forgiveness for their wrong not only from Allah Subhanah, but also from the person whom they have wronged…..that would be akin to seeking sincere repentance in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

If one has wronged one in creation, and that person tasted the element of death before one could seek their forgiveness….one should turn unto their Lord in ‘taubah’ and seek sincere forgiveness for the wrong they had done, and also make supplications for their deceased victim…..it is expected that one would find Allah Subhanah Forgiving and Merciful.

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