Series of Answers by the Honorable Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to His Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
To Ameer Turman
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh.
Greetings to you, our Sheikh and our Ameer, from our hearts.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِذَا مَاتَ ابْنُ آدَمَ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ، صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ، أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ
"When a human being dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, or a righteous child who prays for him."
Is it required that the ongoing charity be something the deceased gave before their death, or is it counted for them if their children give charity on behalf of their soul?
May Allah direct your steps upon the truth and take your hands toward what brings glory to the Ummah.
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh.
The Hadith is about the deeds of the deceased themselves ("his deeds come to an end except for three"), which are ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who prays for him...
As for the reward of others' deeds reaching him, there are deeds performed by others on his behalf whose reward reaches him, including charity given by his children with the intention that the reward be for him:
- Al-Shawkani stated in Nayl al-Awtar:
[1488 - (On the authority of Abu Hurairah: "A man said to the Prophet ﷺ: 'My father died and did not leave a will; will it benefit him if I give charity on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes'." Narrated by Ahmad, Muslim, An-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah).
1489 - (On the authority of Aisha: "A man said to the Prophet ﷺ: 'My mother died suddenly, and I think that if she had been able to speak, she would have given charity. Will she have a reward if I give charity on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes'." Agreed upon).
1491 - (On the authority of Al-Hasan: "From Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, that his mother died, so he said: 'O Messenger of Allah, my mother has died; shall I give charity on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Which charity is best?' He said: 'Providing water'." Al-Hasan said: "That is the water-supply of the family of Sa'd in Madinah." Narrated by Ahmad and An-Nasa'i).
(Chapter: The Arrival of the Reward of Gifted Acts of Devotion to the Deceased)
His saying: (will it benefit him) is evidence that whatever a child does for his Muslim father—such as fasting or charity—its reward reaches him. His saying: (اُفْتُلِتَتْ) with a damma on the letter with two dots [tā’] after the silent fā’, followed by a kasra on the lām, in the passive form; it means she died suddenly, as stated in Al-Qamus. His saying: (نَفْسُ) with a damma—according to the most famous view—is the substitute for the subject (na'ib fa'il). His saying: (وَأُرَاهَا) with a damma on the hamza means "I think"... His saying: (He said: providing water) is evidence that providing water is the best form of charity.
The wording of Abu Dawood is: "Which charity is best? He said: Water. So he dug a well and said: This is for the mother of Sa'd." This Hadith was also recorded by Al-Daraqutni in Ghara'ib Malik. Al-Muwatta recorded from the Hadith of Sa'id ibn Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah that: "Sa'd went out with the Prophet ﷺ in one of his military expeditions while his mother’s death approached in Madinah. It was said to her: 'Make a will.' She said: 'For what should I make a will when the wealth is the wealth of Sa'd?' She died before Sa'd returned." He then mentioned the Hadith. It has been said that the unnamed man in the Hadith of Aisha and the Hadith of Ibn Abbas is Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah. This is supported by the fact that Al-Bukhari mentioned, after the Hadith of Aisha, the Hadith of Ibn Abbas with the wording: "Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah said: 'My mother died while she had a vow upon her'." This serves as an indication that the unnamed person in the Hadith of Aisha is Sa'd. The Hadiths in this chapter indicate that charity from the child reaches the parents after their death without a will from them, and its reward reaches them. Therefore, these Hadiths specify the general meaning of the Almighty's saying:
وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلإِنْسَانِ إِلا مَا سَعَى
"And that there is not for man except [that] for which he strives." (An-Najm [53]: 39)
However, there is nothing in the Hadiths of this chapter except the reaching of charity from the child, and it has been established that a person's child is part of their striving (sa'yihi), so there is no need to claim specification (takhsis)...]
- Sharh Al-Nawawi 'ala Muslim (3/444):
[1672 - Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Bishr narrated to us, Hisham narrated to us from his father from Aisha that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, إِنَّ أُمِّيَ افْتُلِتَتْ نَفْسَهَا and she did not leave a will, and I think that if she had spoken, she would have given charity. Will she have a reward if I give charity on her behalf?" He said: "Yes."
Zuhayr ibn Harb narrated it to me, Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us (H); and Abu Kurayb narrated to us, Abu Usamah narrated to us (H); and Ali ibn Hujr narrated to me, Ali ibn Mushir informed us, Al-Hakam ibn Musa narrated to us, Shu'ayb ibn Ishaq narrated to us—all of them from Hisham with this chain of narrators. In the Hadith of Abu Usamah: "and she did not leave a will," as Ibn Bishr said, while the others did not say that.
1672 - His saying: (يَا رَسُول اللَّه إِنَّ أُمِّي اِفْتَلَتَتْ نَفْسهَا)
We have recorded it as: نَفْسُهَا and نَفْسَهَا with the nasb (fath) on the sīn and its raf‘ (damma). The raf‘ is because it is the subject of a passive verb (maf‘ul ma lam yusamma fa'iluhu), and the nasb is because it is the second object. Al-Qadi said: Most of our narrations regarding it are with nasb. His saying: (اِفْتَلَتَتْ) with the fā’—this is the correct form narrated by the scholars of Hadith and others. Ibn Qutaybah narrated it as (اِقْتَتَلَتْ نَفْسهَا) with the qāf; he said it is a word said for someone who dies suddenly, and it is also said for someone killed by the Jinn or by love. The correct version is with the fā’. They said: Its meaning is she died suddenly, and everything done without delay is described as having been (اُفْتُلِتَ). It is also said that speech was (اُفْتُلِتَ), improvised, or extemporized if it was delivered without preparation.
And her saying: (Will she have a reward if I give charity on her behalf? He said: Yes.)
As for the phrase: (إِنْ تَصَدَّقْتُ), it is with the kasra of the hamza from (إِنْ), and there is no disagreement on this. Al-Qadi said: This is how the narration is, and no other way is correct because he was asking about something he had not yet done.
In this Hadith: Charity on behalf of the deceased benefits the deceased and its reward reaches them, and this is so by the consensus of scholars. Likewise, they reached a consensus on the reaching of supplication and the payment of debt based on the texts regarding all of them. Hajj on behalf of the deceased is valid if it is the obligatory Hajj of Islam, and likewise if they bequeathed a voluntary Hajj according to the more correct view in our school. Scholars differed regarding the correct view if a person dies while owing fasts; the weightier view is that it is permissible on their behalf due to the authentic Hadiths regarding it. The well-known view in our school is that the reward for reciting the Qur'an does not reach them, while a group of our companions said: its reward reaches them, and this was the view of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. As for prayer and other acts of obedience, they do not reach them according to us or the majority, while Ahmad said: the reward for all of them reaches them, just like Hajj.]
Thus, charity on behalf of your father, with the intention for him, reaches him with its reward, Allah willing. Allah is most Knowing and most Wise.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
09 Ramadan 1443 AH Corresponding to 10/04/2022 CE
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