❖ Question:
Some people distribute halwa (sweet dish) after giving the deceased ghusl (ritual washing) or while taking the body to the funeral prayer area, referring to it as “qubr ka toshah” (provision for the grave).
What is the Shar‘i status of this practice? Kindly explain with evidence.
✅ Shar‘i Status of “Halwa Distribution” as Provision for the Grave
◈ There is no evidence for this practice in the Qur’an or Sunnah.
◈ It is not reported from the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn (pious predecessors) either.
◈ Therefore, it is a bid‘ah (innovation) in religion.
📖 The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
((وكل بدعة ضلالة))
“Every innovation is misguidance.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 867/2005)
🗣 Sayyidunā ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنه said:
“كل بدعة ضلالة وإن رآها الناس حسنة“
“Every innovation is misguidance, even if people consider it good.”
(As-Sunnah by al-Marwazī: 86, with authentic chain)
❖ The Correct Sunnah Regarding Bereavement:
◈ The family of the deceased is overwhelmed with grief.
◈ It is the responsibility of others to prepare food for the grieving family — not the other way around.
📖 Evidence from Hadith:
When Sayyidunā Ja‘far ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه was martyred in battle, the Prophet ﷺ said:
((اصنعوا لآل جعفر طعاما، فإنه قد أتاهم أمر يشغلهم))
“Prepare food for the family of Ja‘far, for a matter has occurred that has preoccupied them.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3132, Musnad al-Ḥumaydī: 537 – ḥasan sanad, authenticated by al-Tirmidhī: 998 and al-Ḥākim 1/372, approved by al-Dhahabī)
❖ Scholarly Verdicts on This Practice
◉ Shaykh Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله
In Jalā’ al-Qulūb (p. 77) and Aḥkām al-Janā’iz wa Bid‘uhā (p. 256, no. 113):
“Accepting food invitations from the family of the deceased is a bid‘ah.”
◉ Qāḍī Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Ḥajar al-Būṭāmī (Doha, Qatar):
Hosting gatherings of mourning and feeding visitors for three days is an innovation.
Some people extend this for a whole week, involving:
✿ Extravagant expenditures
✿ Slaughtering of animals
✿ Cooking elaborate meals
In many cases:
✿ Orphans’ wealth is misused
✿ Which is outright ḥarām and oppressive
📖 Allah ﷻ says:
﴿إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَٰلَ ٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِى بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًۭا﴾
“Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming fire into their bellies.”
(Sūrat al-Nisā’: 10)
❖ Even Proponents of “Bid‘ah Ḥasanah” Admit:
◈ Those scholars who support certain innovations as “good” also regard this practice as a misguided innovation (bid‘ah ḍāllah).
◈ Because:
✿ It contradicts the Sunnah
✿ The correct Sunnah is that others should cook for the bereaved family — not vice versa.
✿ As found in the hadith:
((اصنعوا لآل جعفر طعاما))
“Prepare food for the family of Ja‘far.”
⚠ Corrupt Outcomes of This Practice
➊ Extravagance and wastefulness
➋ Consuming wealth unlawfully, especially when:
✿ The family may include orphans or the poor
➌ Borrowing money due to social pressure, which leads to:
✿ Harmful financial burden and disgraceful acts
📝 Rejected Evidence from Fatawa Samarqandī:
A narration states Sayyidunā ‘Umar رضي الله عنه said:
“O believers! Make the Qur’an a means of salvation for the dead. Form a circle and say: O Allah! Forgive this deceased by the sanctity of the Qur’an…”
🔍 This narration is weak and rejected because:
✿ The narrator ‘Abbās ibn Sufyān is majhūl (unknown)
✿ Even if assumed to be the same as the one in al-Thiqāt by Ibn Ḥibbān,
➤ No evidence of his meeting with Abū al-Layth al-Samarqandī
✿ And if it is a different individual, there is no proof of meeting with Ismā‘īl ibn Ibrāhīm
📚 Reference: al-Ḥadīth Magazine (Issue 45), 26 November 2007
✅ Conclusion:
◈ The questioned act — distributing halwa as “qubr ka toshah” —
✿ is not permissible in Sharī‘ah
✿ and is a reprehensible innovation (bid‘ah sayyi’ah)
وَبِاللّٰهِ التَّوْفِيق
