Reciting Quran at graveyard.
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:
The
below question is from one of my friend. Appreciate if you could provide your
response in the light of Shahriya and Hadith ( I mean with authentic references
)
I was
told by one Shaikh that going to the grave and reciting surahs from the Qur'an
is Bid'ah because the Prophet SAW never did it and the Shaikh also said there
is NO hadith saying the Prophet SAW did this. He says the only purpose of going
to the grave is to be reminded of death and that any reciting for the dead
should be done at home. I want to know if this is truly Bid'ah because my
Father always goes to his mother's grave to recite Fatiha and a few other
Surahs he knows.
(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:
Reciting Quran at
graveyard
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 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
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 12 Surah
Yusuf verse 1-2:
These are the verses of the Book that makes its
object perfectly clear. We have sent it
down as a Quran in Arabic, so that you
may understand it well.
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 19 Surah
Maryam verse 97:
O Mohamed,
We have made this Quran easy, and
sent it down in your tongue so that you should give good news to the pious and
warn the stubborn people.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah
Kahf verse 1-3:
All praise is for Allah Alone, Who has sent down this Book to His Servant (Mohamed
(saws), and assigned nothing crooked to
it. This Book says everything
directly, so that he may warn the people
of the severe chastisement of Allah and give good news to the believers, who do righteous deeds, that they will have an excellent reward.
Respected brother in Islam, the Glorious Quran is a Book
of Guidance revealed by the Lord Most Merciful as a guidance for those who are
alive, giving their ‘test of life’, and
choose to live their lives in submission to the Will of Allah…..it is definitely
not a Book to guide those who are dead and buried in their graves, for once a
person dies, the veil or curtain of the ‘unseen’ is lifted and everything the
Lord Promises in the Quran regarding the life after death is absolutely
apparent to them! Neither can those who
are dead and buried in their graves now avail the guidance of the Quran, nor
can they amend their deeds, nor can they now abstain from evil, or do any
righteous deeds, etc….for the period determined for their ‘test’ of life is
over and all they are awaiting now is the result of the deeds which they did in
their life.
It is only those who are alive who can and should avail
the guidance of the Quran, align their beliefs according to the Truth it
details, and submit unto their Lord…..for once their soul is taken out of their
bodies, no amount of guidance or acceptance of the guidance of the Quran after
the veil of the ‘unseen’ has been lifted can do them any good or save them from
any harm!
There is absolutely no evidence in the authentic and
established Sunnah that the Messenger of Allah (saws) would ever go to the
graveyard to recite the Glorious Quran, or that it was his practice to recite
the Glorious Quran when he (saws) visited the graveyards; thus it would be best
and closest to piety and righteousness if the believers abstained from reciting
the Glorious Quran when they visit the graveyards.
When there is absolutely no evidence in the authentic and
established Sunnah that the Messenger of Allah (saws) recited the Surah Fatihah,
or the Surah Yaa-Seen, or any other Surah of the Glorious Quran when he (saws)
visited the graveyards….without an iota of a doubt, if one visits the
graveyards specifically to recite the Glorious Quran over the graves, it would
constitute the abomination of ‘bida’ or innovation in the deen.
The wisdom one may visit the graveyards in Islam is
because it reminds one of their impending and inevitable appointment of death
and their place of final destination.
Ibn Abbas reported: "Once the Prophet
(saws) passed by graves in Madinah. He (saws) turned his face toward them
saying: 'Peace be upon you, O dwellers of these graves. May Allah forgive us and you. You have preceded us, and we are
following your trail'."
Related by Tirmidhi.
Aishah reported: "I asked: 'What should
I say when I pass by a graveyard, O Messenger of Allah (saws)?' He (saws)
replied, 'Say, "Peace be upon the believing men and women dwelling here.
May Allah grant mercy to those who have preceded us and those who are to follow
them. Certainly, Allah willing, we
will join you"'.
Related by Muslim.
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