Q: A questioner from Yemen asks: People here recite the Qur'an for the dead and accept fees for this, do the dead receive any benefit from this? When one of them dies, they recite the Qur'an for three days and slaughter offerings and hold banquets. Are these practices permissible?
A: Reciting the Qur'an for the dead is an act of Bid'ah (innovation in religion) and accepting payment in return for it is impermissible. There is no evidence for this in the purified Shari'ah (Islamic law). All acts of worship are Tawqifiy (bound by a religious text and not amenable to personal opinion); they are not to be offered except in accordance with the prescriptions of Allah, for the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not a part of it will have it rejected." (Agreed upon by Imams AlBukhari and Muslim)The same applies to slaughtering sacrifices and holding banquets for the dead. This is an impermissible and rejected Bid'ah, whether it takes one day or more. There is no Shar'y (Islamic legal) foundation for this practice. Rather, it is an act of Jahiliyyah (preIslamic time of ignorance); it was authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Four practices characteristic of Jahiliyyah that are found in my Ummah (nation based on one creed), which they will not abandon: taking pride in noble descent, impugning lineage, ascribing the falling of rain to the stars, and wailing." And "If the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she will be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of tar and a shirt of mange." (Related by Muslim in his Sahih [Authentic Hadith Book])
It is also narrated on the authority of Jarir ibn 'Abdullah AlBajali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We used to consider gathering with the bereaved family and their preparing food (for those who come for condolence) after burying the dead as a kind of wailing." (Related by Imam Ahmad with a Hasan (good) Isnad [chain of narrators])The Prophet (peace be upon him) also stated: "Four practices characteristic of Jahiliyyah that are found in my Ummah, which they will not abandon..." As previously mentioned in the Hadith. Thus, it was not of the practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or his Sahabah (Companions, may Allah be pleased with them) to recite the Qur'an for or over the deceased. Moreover, they did not slaughter animals, hold memorial gathering, serve food, or banquets. All these are acts of Bid'ah. Thus, it is necessary to beware of them and people must be warned against them. Scholars, in particular, must forbid people from doing what Allah has prohibited. They should punish the ignorant and impudent until they adhere to the right path prescribed by Allah for His Servants. Thus, all conditions of life and societies are reformed and Islamic law prevails over any practices of Jahiliyyah. May Allah grant us all guidance and success.