Sharʿī Ruling on Giving Charity on Behalf of the Deceased and the Prophetic Ḥadīth
📚 Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Matters of Funerals, Volume 1, Page 264
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to give charity on behalf of a deceased person? For example, if someone donates and says, “May the reward of this go to my parents or a relative,” or if, after someone’s passing, their children build a mosque intending the reward to reach their parents — is such a practice valid in Islam?
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
✔ Yes, this practice is valid and permissible in Sharīʿah.
✿ Ḥadīth Evidence:
This incident is recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, where:
Ḥaḍrat Saʿd رضي الله عنه said:
“My mother has passed away. If I give charity on her behalf, will she benefit from it?”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:
“Yes, give charity on her behalf; she will benefit from it.”
📖 (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Waṣāyā, Bāb al-Ishhād fī al-Waqf wa al-Ṣadaqah)
✅ Conclusion:
Giving charity on behalf of a deceased person, whether by building a mosque, feeding the poor, or through other charitable means — while intending the reward to reach the deceased — is permissible and beneficial, as explicitly affirmed by the Prophet ﷺ.
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I understand, and Allah knows best what is correct.
