Can we eat food ourself n send the sawab of that food to the died people???
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:
can we eat food ourself n send the sawab of
that food to the died people???
(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:
Eat food and
transfer reward
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 no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (saws)
said:
'When a person
dies all his good deeds cease except for three:
1. Sadaqa Jaariya. (continuous acts of
charity. ie. a person who did or spent something in the way of Allah and people
are still benefiting from it. Things like mosques, orphanages, wells, planting
of trees and the like, which outlive the person who died and benefiting the
ummah.)
2. Ilm un Naafe'ah.(beneficial knowledge. ie.
a person who spread knowledge of Islam and people are still benefiting from it
after his death. Things like lectures, writing books, good advice he gave to
people, or any other knowledge of Islam that the person helped in spreading the
word of Allah.)
3. Ibn us Saleh. (righteous children who
regularly pray to Allah to forgive their father/mother who have died.)
Dear and beloved brother in Islam, in light of the above
guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) the Book of the Records of the
deceased is sealed and absolutely nothing can be added to it except from the
three listed sources of:
- Continuous
charity
- Beneficial
knowledge
- Righteous
off-spring who make supplications for them.
Other than the above three sources, absolutely nothing can
be added or transferred to the account of the deceased after their death.
The eating of food with the intent to transfer its reward
to the deceased, or ‘fatihah’ as is normally known is a manifest ‘bida’ and an
innovation in the perfect deen of Islam, and every ‘bida’ or innovation in the
deen must be immediately rejected by the believers.
Aisha narrated that
the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘If somebody innovates something which is
not present in our religion, then that thing will be rejected.’
Related by Bukhari.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If
anyone introduces an innovation (in religion), he will be responsible for
it. If anyone introduces an innovation
or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (in religion), he is
cursed by Allah, by His Angels, and by all the people.”
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,
and every innovation 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