Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 3 – Issues of Tawḥīd and Sunnah, p. 56
Are people’s deeds presented to their close relatives after death?
In Minhāj al-Khaṭīb by Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Manān Rāsikh حفظه الله, a narration has been quoted in which it is reported from Ḥaḍrat Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"When a believer passes away, he meets righteous people in the realm of Barzakh. In Barzakh, these righteous people ask the newly arrived believer various important questions — though its reality is known only to Allah. However, we have complete faith in the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth. At the end of this ḥadīth, there are these words:
"إِنَّ أَعْمَالَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِكُمْ وَعَشَائِرِكُمْ”
‘Indeed, your deeds are presented to your relatives and clan. If the deeds are good, they are pleased and rejoice, saying: O Allah! This is Your favour and mercy. Complete Your blessings upon this beloved who has done good, and grant him death upon the same. Likewise, if the deeds are bad, they supplicate: O Allah! Grant him the ability to do deeds that please You and bring him closer to You.’"
References: Minhāj al-Khaṭīb pp. 434–435, Dār al-Quds Khutbah no. 19, Kitāb al-Zuhd of Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak 149, 443, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr of Imām Ṭabarānī 4/154/3889, Sharḥ al-Ṣudūr of Imām al-Suyūṭī, Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah no. 2758 of Shaykh al-Albānī.
Abū Ibrāhīm Khurram Irshād Muḥammadī requested an analysis of this narration’s chain.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd:
Imām Ṭabarānī recorded this narration marfūʿan in:
The chain contains Muslimah ibn ʿAlī, a weak narrator.
Another narrator in the chain, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Salamah, is unknown:
Hence, Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله gave his verdict:
"ضعيف جدا" — Very weak (al-Ḍaʿīfah 2/254, Ḥadīth 864)
In Kitāb al-Zuhd of Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak (Ḥadīth 443), there is a mawqūf narration from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه with the chain:
"ʿan Thawr ibn Yazīd ʿan Abī Ruhm al-Samʿī ʿan Abī Ayyūb al-Anṣārī"
Shaykh al-Albānī’s two different opinions:
➊ In al-Ṣaḥīḥah 6/604, Ḥadīth 2758:
"Its mawqūf chain is ṣaḥīḥ."
➋ In the same work, vol. 6, p. 264, Ḥadīth 2628:
"Its narrators are trustworthy, but there is a gap between Thawr ibn Yazīd and Abū Ruhm…" — i.e., the chain is munqaṭiʿ and thus not ṣaḥīḥ.
➊ Report via Salām al-Ṭawīl — narrator is matrūk.
➋ Report via Muʿāwiyah ibn Yaḥyā — narrator is ḍaʿīf.
➌ Mursal report attributed to Ḥasan al-Baṣrī.
All supporting chains are weak.
The mentioned narration is weak and rejected.
It is likely that Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Manān Rāsikh حفظه الله did not have the opportunity to conduct a full chain analysis, and thus included it in Minhāj al-Khaṭīb relying on Shaykh al-Albānī’s initial grading.
A narration in Musnad al-Bazzār (al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār 17/154–155, Ḥadīth 9760; Kashf al-Astār 1/413–414, Ḥadīth 874) is ḥasan li-dhātih.
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله also mentioned it in al-Ṣaḥīḥah 6/262–263, Ḥadīth 2628.
Numerous authentic and non-contradictory narrations prove that the souls meet after death.
However, the specific wording:
"إِنَّ أَعْمَالَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِكُمْ وَعَشَائِرِكُمْ"
…is not established and is weak/rejected.
Date: 18 Shawwāl 1433 AH / 16 September 2012 CE
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
Question
Are people’s deeds presented to their close relatives after death?
In Minhāj al-Khaṭīb by Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Manān Rāsikh حفظه الله, a narration has been quoted in which it is reported from Ḥaḍrat Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"When a believer passes away, he meets righteous people in the realm of Barzakh. In Barzakh, these righteous people ask the newly arrived believer various important questions — though its reality is known only to Allah. However, we have complete faith in the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth. At the end of this ḥadīth, there are these words:
"إِنَّ أَعْمَالَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِكُمْ وَعَشَائِرِكُمْ”
‘Indeed, your deeds are presented to your relatives and clan. If the deeds are good, they are pleased and rejoice, saying: O Allah! This is Your favour and mercy. Complete Your blessings upon this beloved who has done good, and grant him death upon the same. Likewise, if the deeds are bad, they supplicate: O Allah! Grant him the ability to do deeds that please You and bring him closer to You.’"
References: Minhāj al-Khaṭīb pp. 434–435, Dār al-Quds Khutbah no. 19, Kitāb al-Zuhd of Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak 149, 443, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr of Imām Ṭabarānī 4/154/3889, Sharḥ al-Ṣudūr of Imām al-Suyūṭī, Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah no. 2758 of Shaykh al-Albānī.
Abū Ibrāhīm Khurram Irshād Muḥammadī requested an analysis of this narration’s chain.
Authenticity of the Narration
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd:
Narration Sources
Imām Ṭabarānī recorded this narration marfūʿan in:
- ◈ al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr 4/129, Ḥadīth 3887
- ◈ al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 1/130–131, Ḥadīth 148
- ◈ Musnad al-Shāmiyyīn 2/383, Ḥadīth 1544; 4/371, Ḥadīth 3584
- ◈ al-Sunan of ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī 1/198
Condition of the Chain
The chain contains Muslimah ibn ʿAlī, a weak narrator.
- Ḥāfiẓ Haythamī رحمه الله said:
"It contains Muslimah ibn ʿAlī, who is weak." (Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 2/327) - Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله wrote:
"And he (Muslimah ibn ʿAlī) is accused." (al-Ḍaʿīfah 2/255)
Another narrator in the chain, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Salamah, is unknown:
- Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله said:
"I could not find his biography." (al-Ṣaḥīḥah 6/605, Ḥadīth 2758)
Hence, Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله gave his verdict:
"ضعيف جدا" — Very weak (al-Ḍaʿīfah 2/254, Ḥadīth 864)
Mawqūf Narration
In Kitāb al-Zuhd of Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak (Ḥadīth 443), there is a mawqūf narration from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه with the chain:
"ʿan Thawr ibn Yazīd ʿan Abī Ruhm al-Samʿī ʿan Abī Ayyūb al-Anṣārī"
Shaykh al-Albānī’s two different opinions:
➊ In al-Ṣaḥīḥah 6/604, Ḥadīth 2758:
"Its mawqūf chain is ṣaḥīḥ."
➋ In the same work, vol. 6, p. 264, Ḥadīth 2628:
"Its narrators are trustworthy, but there is a gap between Thawr ibn Yazīd and Abū Ruhm…" — i.e., the chain is munqaṭiʿ and thus not ṣaḥīḥ.
Other Supporting Reports (All Weak)
➊ Report via Salām al-Ṭawīl — narrator is matrūk.
➋ Report via Muʿāwiyah ibn Yaḥyā — narrator is ḍaʿīf.
➌ Mursal report attributed to Ḥasan al-Baṣrī.
All supporting chains are weak.
Summary of Research
The mentioned narration is weak and rejected.
It is likely that Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Manān Rāsikh حفظه الله did not have the opportunity to conduct a full chain analysis, and thus included it in Minhāj al-Khaṭīb relying on Shaykh al-Albānī’s initial grading.
Important Note
A narration in Musnad al-Bazzār (al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār 17/154–155, Ḥadīth 9760; Kashf al-Astār 1/413–414, Ḥadīth 874) is ḥasan li-dhātih.
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله also mentioned it in al-Ṣaḥīḥah 6/262–263, Ḥadīth 2628.
Related Authentic Aḥādīth
Numerous authentic and non-contradictory narrations prove that the souls meet after death.
However, the specific wording:
"إِنَّ أَعْمَالَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِكُمْ وَعَشَائِرِكُمْ"
…is not established and is weak/rejected.
Date: 18 Shawwāl 1433 AH / 16 September 2012 CE
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
