Benefit of Charity for the Deceased: Islamic Ruling on Conveying Reward and Reduction of Punishment
📚 Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Matters of Funerals, Volume 1, Page 263
❖ Question:
If someone passes away — whether a family member or a relative — is there any action that can be done to convey reward to the deceased or reduce their punishment? What can a person do so that if the deceased is undergoing punishment, it may be lessened, and if they are not being punished, Allah may elevate their ranks?
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
There is a clear narration in this regard from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, in which:
Ḥaḍrat Saʿd رضي الله عنه asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
“If I give charity on behalf of my mother (who has passed away), will she benefit from it?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Yes.”
📖 (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Waṣāyā, Bāb Idhā Qāla: Arḍī aw Bustānī Ṣadaqah Lillāh ʿan Ummī)
✿ What This Narration Proves:
❀ If a living person gives charity on behalf of a deceased, the benefit certainly reaches the deceased.
❀ Good deeds such as ṣadaqah (charity) performed by the living can convey reward to the deceased.
❀ This can result in:
- Reduction of punishment if the deceased is being punished.
- Elevation of ranks if the deceased is not being punished.
✅ Conclusion:
✔ Performing righteous deeds such as charity on behalf of a deceased individual is beneficial, and its reward reaches them.
✔ Such acts are Sharʿīly proven and can be a source of mercy, reward, and even reduction in torment for the deceased.
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I understand, and Allah knows best what is correct.
