As for what benefits the deceased after their death, there are things that scholars agree on and things they differ on. Firstly, what scholars agree on is that the deceased receives the reward of supplication, financial worship such as charity and zakat, repaying debts, and gifting the deceased a reward.
Secondly, scholars differ on whether physical acts of worship and reading the Quran reach the deceased. Here are the opinions of scholars regarding the matter of reading the Quran:
The opinion of Ḥanafis:
The Ḥanafis believe that the reward of reading the Quran reaches the deceased, whether it is done by their children or by others. The default principle of this issue is that whoever owns something is allowed to donate it in any way, and the one who recites the Quran owns the reward of their recitation, so it is permissible for him to donate it to the deceased as a gift, unless there is a defect in the reciter that makes his recitation rejected, such as if they were a disbeliever. This is what Ibn ˁAābidīn reported from the Ḥanafis in “Ad-Durr al-Mukhtār Wa Radd al-Muḥtār” where it states: “It is reported that whoever enters a graveyard and recites Surah Yāsīn, Allah will alleviate the punishment for the deceased on that day, and the reciter will receive the reward for the number of people buried there.” This opinion is well-known in the books of our Ḥanafi scholars.
The opinion of the Mālikis:
There are three narrations reported from the Mālikis regarding this issue, the strongest of which is that the reward of reading the Quran reaches the deceased. In “Manḥ al-Jalīl”, a statement from Ibn Rushd was reported about his interpretation of the meaning of the verse: “And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives” [Quran 53:39], that it is permissible to recite the Quran and donate the reward to the deceased, and the reward will reach them, and their benefit will be received, God willing, based on the Ḥadīth reported by An-Nasāˀiy: “Whoever enters a graveyard and recites Surah Al-ˀIkhlāṣ eleven times and donates the reward to the deceased, Allah will record for him the number of good deeds equal to the number of people buried there.” Ad-Dusūqiy also reported this from Ibn Rushd, and Ibn Hilāl, and attributed this opinion to the Andalusian scholars, where Ibn Hilāl said in his “Nawāzil”: “What Ibn Rushd has given a fatwa on is agreed upon by many Andalusian scholars, which is that the deceased benefits from the recitation of the Quran and receives its reward when the reader donates it to them, and this has been practiced by Muslims for a long time in the East and the West, and they have gifted the deceased rewards for this purpose.” This is the opinion of the later Mālikis, as stated by Ad-Dusūqiy: “However, the later scholars believe that there is no harm in reciting the Quran and making supplications and dedicating their rewards to the deceased, and they will receive the reward, God willing.”
The opinion of the Shāfi’is:
Contrary to what some may say that the Shāfi’is disallow reciting the Quran for the deceased, we find that most Shāfi’is permit it. An-Nawawiy said: “As for the recitation of the Quran, the well-known opinion in the Shāfi’i school is that its reward does not reach the deceased, but some of the Shāfiˁi scholars said that the reward does reach the deceased.” There is a comment on An-Nawawiy’s statement in “Fatḥ al-Muˁīn” that says: “Some referred to the opinion that An-Nawawiy that is mentioned about the disallowance of donating [the recitation to the deceased] to be based on the condition that the recitation is not done in the presence of the deceased, and the reader did not intend for the reward to reach them or ask [Allah] for it.” In “Fatḥ al-Wahhāb”, there is a quote on the authority of As-Subkiy as saying: “The inference from a reported narration indicates that some parts of the Quran, when recited with the intention of benefiting the deceased, will benefit them.” In “Fatḥ al-Muˁīn”, there is a report that the opinion of permissibility of donating the reward of recitation to the deceased is what many Shāfi’i imams have chosen. In “Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj”, the author said: “Concerning recitation, the well-known opinion on the authority of the three imams is that the reward reaches the deceased as soon as the reader intends it for them, and many of our imams have chosen this opinion… Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ said: “One should be certain of the benefit of saying: ‘O Allah, convey the reward of what we have recited, that is, its equivalent,’ and he may explicitly intend it for a certain person, because if the supplication benefits someone with something that the supplicant does not own [mercy from Allah], so does what he owns [recitation of the Quran].”
You may now contemplate on the previous statement of Ar-Ramliy and what he reported on the authority of Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ concerning the benefit of recitation for both the reciter and the one being recited for.
The opinion of the Ḥanbalis:
As for the Ḥanbalis, their opinion is one of the most permissive among the schools of thought, as they said that the reward of all good deeds, including prayer, fasting, and recitation of the Quran, reaches the deceased Muslim. Ibn Qudāmah said: “Any act of worship that a Muslim performs and dedicates its reward to a deceased Muslim, the later will benefit from it.” Abu Manṣūr al-Bahūtiy said: “Every act of worship that a Muslim performs and dedicates its reward, or a part of it, even if it is only half, a third, or a quarter, to a living or a deceased Muslim, is permissible, and the he will benefit from it for dedicating the reward to him, even to the Prophet peace be upon him, whose remembrance is an honor. This encompasses every act of worship, whether it is voluntary or obligatory, whether it requires a representative or not. Acts of worship that require a representative include Ḥajj and similar acts such as vow-related fasting. Acts of worship that do not require a representative include prayer, supplication, seeking forgiveness, charity, freeing a slave, sacrificing an animal, fulfilling debts, fasting, recitation of the Quran, and others. ˀAḥmad said: “Everything good reaches the deceased, as indicated by the texts and because Muslims gather in everywhere, reciting and dedicating the reward to their deceased without exception, so there is consensus of opinion on this.” Ibn Taymiyyah also permitted this and said in a fatwa: “They disputed regarding donating the reward of physical acts of worship [to others] such as fasting, prayer, and recitation of the Quran, and the correct view is that the reward of all of them reaches the deceased.” (Majmūˁ al-Fatāwā by Ibn Taymiyyah).
This permission is not limited to well-known fatwa houses such as the Egyptian and Jordanian fatwa houses but is also supported by some Wahhābi scholars. Sheikh Ibn ˁUthaymīn explicitly stated this in his book “Fatāwā al-ˁAqīdah”. Finally, I would like to quote the fatwa of the prominent scholar, our master, Sheikh ˁAṭiyyah Ṣaqr, may Allah have mercy on him. He said: “If the Quran is recited in the presence of the deceased, the benefit of the recitation is expected, whether it is dedicated to them or not, due to the concept of proximity. When the Quran is recited, especially in gatherings, the angels surround the reciters, mercy descends upon them, and tranquility is granted to them. Muslim narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ‘No group of people gather in a house of Allah, reciting and studying the Book of Allah among themselves, but that the angels surround them, mercy covers them, and tranquility descends upon them.’ The Quran is the best form of remembrance. Muslim and others narrated a Ḥadīth that says: “No group of people sits together, remembering Allah the Almighty, but that the angels surround them, mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them among those who are with Him.” The presence of the angels is not conditioned to recitation or remembrance in gatherings as this happens for the individual on his own. Al-Bukhāriy and Muslim narrated the Ḥadīth of ˀUsayd ibn Ḥuḍayr, who used to recite the Quran in his tent, with his son and horse beside him, which includes the following: “When I looked at the sky, I saw something like a cloud containing what looked like lamps, so I went out in order not to see it.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Do you know what that was?” Ibn Ḥuḍayr replied, “No.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Those were Angels who came near to you for your voice and if you had kept on reciting till dawn, it would have remained there till morning when people would have seen it as it would not have disappeared.”
ˀAḥmad, Abū Dawūd, An-Nasāˀiy, Ibn Mājah, and Al-Ḥākim have all narrated the following authentic hadith: “The heart of the Quran is Yāsīn, and no one reads it with the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allah and the Hereafter except that he is forgiven. So, recite it over your dead.” Ad-Dāraquṭniy and Ibn al-Qaṭṭān have reported a defect in this Ḥadīth, but Ibn Ḥibbān and Al-Ḥākim verified its authenticity.
Although the previous Ḥadīth mentioned the recitation of Yāsīn for the deceased, some scholars who verified this Ḥadīth as Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) understood it in a way that it means that the recitation of Yāsīn should be recited for the dying person, based on a Ḥadīth in the Musnad of Al-Firdaws: “Whenever a dying person hears the recitation of Yāsīn, Allah makes it easy for him.” However, some scholars have argued that the term “the dead” is general and not limited to the dying person, and therefore, there is no harm in reciting it for the deceased after their death, whether they have been buried or not. Al-Bayhaqiy has reported in a Ḥasan chain that Ibn ˁUmar preferred the recitation of the first and last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at the grave after burial.
Ibn Ḥibbān, who commented on the Ḥadīth “Recite Yāsīn over your dead,” meant that it should be recited for the dying person, not for the deceased. Al-Muḥib aṭ-Ṭabari responded to this argument, saying that it is not a valid opinion, even if it is valid concerning the dying person.
Ash-Shawkāniy, in his book “Nayl al-ˀAwṭār,” stated that the term “the dead” refers to the deceased, and its reference to the dying person is figurative and needs a supporting proof.
An-Nawawiy, in his book “Riyāḍ aṣ-Ṣāliḥīn,” under the chapter of “Supplication for the Deceased After Burial and Sitting by the Grave for an Hour for Supplication, Seeking Forgiveness, and Recitation,” mentioned that Ash-Shāfiˁiy said: “It is recommended to recite something from the Quran by the grave, and if they complete the recitation of the Quran, it is good.” Ibn Qudāmah, in his book “Al-Mughniy,” stated: “reciting the Quran by the grave is recommended, and its reward is a gift for the deceased. ˀAḥmad reported that it is an innovation, but then he retracted his opinion.”
Mālik and Abū Ḥanīfah disliked the recitation of the Quran by the grave, as there is no evidence from the Sunnah to support this practice. However, Al-Qarāfiy al-Mālikiy stated: “Among the rewards that reaches the deceased is the blessings of recitation of the Quran just as they would receive blessings from a righteous person who is buried among them, or they are buried with.”
If the Quran is recited away from the deceased or the grave, its benefit is withheld due to the concept of proximity and the presence of angels. Still, the jurists differ on whether the deceased can benefit from it, and there are three cases where there is disagreement among them regarding its permissibility:
The first case is when the reader recites the Quran and then prays to God to have mercy on or forgive the deceased, as the reader has sought the intercession of God through his righteous act of recitation and prayed for showering mercy on the deceased. It is agreed upon that supplicating for the deceased is permissible and that there is hope that they will benefit from it if God accepts it, just as those who sought the intercession of God through their righteous deeds and had the rock blocking the cave’s entrance removed. In this case, there should be no disagreement about the deceased benefiting from the supplication after the recitation.
The second case is when the reader recites the Quran and then prays to God to grant the deceased the same reward of his recitation. Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ said: “One should be certain of the benefit of saying: ‘O Allah, convey the reward of what we have recited, that is, its equivalent,’ and he may explicitly intend it for a certain person, because if the supplication benefits someone with something that the supplicant does not own [mercy from Allah], so do what he own [recitation of the Quran]. This applies to all acts of worship.” The meaning of Ibn aṣṢalāḥ’s words is that the supplicant prays to God to have mercy on the deceased, and mercy does not belong to the supplicant but to God. Therefore, if supplicating for mercy is permissible, it is more appropriate to supplicate for something that belongs to the supplicant, such as the reward of the recitation or its equivalent. Similarly, it is permissible for the living person to perform acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, and charity, and then pray afterward that God grants the deceased the equivalent of their reward. Ibn Qudāmah has already mentioned this in al-Mughniy. Those who hold the view of permissibility of saying: “O Allah, convey the reward of what I have recited to so-and-so.”, believe that supplicating to dedicate the equivalent of the reciter’s reward to the deceased is what is meant by this such supplication.
The third case is when the reader intends, either before recitation or during it, that the reward, i.e., its equivalent, should be for the deceased. Abū ˁAbdullah al-ˀAābiy said: “If he recites the Quran and dedicates the intention for the deceased beforehand, then the reward reaches the latter, such as charity and supplication, but if he recites and then holds the intention afterwards, it does not reach the deceased, because the reward of the recitation belongs to the reader and does not transfer to someone else.” Imam Ibn Rushd said in his book “Nawāzil”: “If someone recites then donates the reward of his recitation to the deceased, it is permissible, and the deceased will receive its reward and benefit.” He made no difference whether he holds the intention before, during, or after the recitation, and perhaps he meant what Al-ˀAābiy said.
This is what the late Shāfiˁi scholars hold regarding the permissibility of donating the benefit of the recitation, whether as a donation or as intended, to the deceased. They interpreted the view of impermissibility that it refers to donating the same reward of the reciter, reciting the Quran not in the presence of the deceased nor with the intention of donating the reward to them, or without making Duˁāˀ for them. However, ˀAḥmad, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn al-Qayyim believed that the deceased benefits from it. Their statements on this matter are above-mentioned.
Ash-Shawkāniy said in “Nayl al-ˀAwṭār”: “The well-known view of the Shāfiˁi school and a group of its followers is that the deceased does not benefit from the recitation of the Quran’s reward. However, ˀAḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and a group of scholars, including Shāfiˁi scholars, believed that he does benefit. An-Nawawiy mentioned this in his book “Al-ˀAdhkār.” In “Sharḥ al-Minhāj,” it is stated: “according to the majority opinion, the reward of recitation does not reach the deceased, and the chosen opinion is that it does reach him if one asks God to convey its reward. This opinion binding because it is a mere supplication. If making a Duˁāˀ for the deceased with something that does not belong to the supplicant is permissible, then making a Duˁāˀ for him with something that belongs to him is even more appropriate. The matter relies on the acceptance of the Duˁāˀ. This meaning is not specific to recitation but applies to all deeds. It appears that supplication is agreed upon to benefit both the deceased and the living, the close and the distant, through requests or other means, and there are many hadiths to support this. In fact, the best supplication is to pray for one’s brother in absentia.” end.
This is a statement on the authority of Al-ˀAābiy: “Reciting the Quran for the deceased, and even if there is a disagreement about it, it should not be neglected, as the fact of reaching it to the deceased is possible. These matters are unknown to us, and the disagreement is not on a legal ruling, but rather on whether it [being accepted] happens or not.”
I agree with Al-ˀAābiy in this matter, as if the recitation does not benefit the deceased, it benefits the reader, and both of them benefit from it without harm to anyone, with the hope that God’s mercy and favor will let the deceased benefit from it in ways like intercession, supplication, and other means.
The disagreement occurs if the Quran is recited without receiving a payment. However, the majority agree that the deceased does not benefit from it if the reciter received a payment, because the reciter took its worldly reward and has nothing left to give or donate to the deceased. The recitation was not for the sake of God to supplicate to Him to benefit the deceased, but rather for worldly purposes.
This is more confirmed when there is a prior agreement on the payment or a known customary fee. However, if the recitation is gifted to the reciter after it is done, and the reciter does not internally cling to it, it is hoped that the recitation will benefit the deceased. Indeed, actions are judged by intentions. I like to cite the following Ḥadīth as a warning to the reciter of the Quran. ˀAḥmad, Aṭ-Ṭabarāniy, and Al-Bayhaqiy narrated from ˁAbdulrahman ibn Shibl: “Read the Quran and act upon it, do not abandon it, do not exaggerate in it, do not eat through it, and do not accumulate provisions through it.”
Al-Haythamiy said: “The narrators that ˀAḥmad depended on are reliable.” Ibn Ḥajar said in Al-Fatḥ: “Its chain is strong,” and he interpreted “eating through it” as taking a fee for it, as he also interpreted it as using it as a means of begging or soliciting. The late scholar Hasanayn Muḥammad Makhlūf said that it is not permissible in the Ḥanafi school to take a fee for acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, teaching the Quran, or reciting it. However, some later Ḥanafi scholars exempted some matters, including teaching the Quran, and they considered it permissible to take a fee for it out of preserving it from loss. However, the ruling on taking a fee for reciting the Quran remains as determined in the original Ḥanafi school, which prohibits it. The Ḥanbali school also prohibits taking a fee for teaching or reciting the Quran, based on the Ḥadīth “Read the Quran…” mentioned earlier.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālīd Naṣr