Sharʿī Ruling on Three Innovated Practices: Thursday Bread, Chālīswan, and ʿUrs
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 515
In our area, it is a common practice that after seven days of a person’s death, the family sends “Thursday Bread” to the local Mullā’s house. After forty days, a Chālīswan (40th-day ritual) is observed, and after one year, an ʿUrs (death anniversary) is held. Are these practices permissible in Islam?
(Asked by: Ḥājī Naẓīr Khān, Dāmān Hazro)
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
There is no evidence in the Qur’an or Sunnah for the custom of sending food, specifically on the Thursday after death, to a religious figure’s home or others.
✔ It is a cultural innovation, unrelated to any legitimate form of Isāl al-Thawāb.
Observing a gathering or ritual exactly forty days after death has no basis in the Sharīʿah.
✔ It is counted among religious innovations (bidʿah) and falsely attributed to the religion.
Celebrating or commemorating a person’s death every year is an imitation of non-Islamic traditions, and is nowhere sanctioned in Islamic sources.
✔ Such practices have been widely condemned by scholars as innovations that corrupt the purity of dīn.
◈ Some people wrongly link these practices with the concept of Isāl al-Thawāb (conveying reward to the deceased).
◈ However, these rituals have no connection to that — true Isāl al-Thawāb is through duʿā, charity, and righteous deeds, as taught by the Prophet ﷺ.
Refer: Maʿjam al-Bidaʿ, p. 162
Al-Ḥadīth Magazine, Issue 61
✔ All three practices —
(1) Thursday Bread,
(2) Chālīswan, and
(3) ʿUrs —
are bidʿāt (religious innovations).
✔ It is obligatory upon Muslims to abstain from these practices and follow only what is proven from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the way of the Ṣaḥābah and Salaf.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 515
❖ Question
In our area, it is a common practice that after seven days of a person’s death, the family sends “Thursday Bread” to the local Mullā’s house. After forty days, a Chālīswan (40th-day ritual) is observed, and after one year, an ʿUrs (death anniversary) is held. Are these practices permissible in Islam?
(Asked by: Ḥājī Naẓīr Khān, Dāmān Hazro)
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
✦ Sharʿī Position on These Three Practices
➊ Thursday Bread (جمعرات کی روٹی)
There is no evidence in the Qur’an or Sunnah for the custom of sending food, specifically on the Thursday after death, to a religious figure’s home or others.✔ It is a cultural innovation, unrelated to any legitimate form of Isāl al-Thawāb.
➋ Chālīswan (40th-Day Ritual)
Observing a gathering or ritual exactly forty days after death has no basis in the Sharīʿah.✔ It is counted among religious innovations (bidʿah) and falsely attributed to the religion.
➌ ʿUrs (Annual Death Anniversary)
Celebrating or commemorating a person’s death every year is an imitation of non-Islamic traditions, and is nowhere sanctioned in Islamic sources.✔ Such practices have been widely condemned by scholars as innovations that corrupt the purity of dīn.
✦ Common Misconception: Isāl al-Thawāb?
◈ Some people wrongly link these practices with the concept of Isāl al-Thawāb (conveying reward to the deceased).
◈ However, these rituals have no connection to that — true Isāl al-Thawāb is through duʿā, charity, and righteous deeds, as taught by the Prophet ﷺ.
Refer: Maʿjam al-Bidaʿ, p. 162 Al-Ḥadīth Magazine, Issue 61
Conclusion
✔ All three practices —
(1) Thursday Bread,
(2) Chālīswan, and
(3) ʿUrs —
are bidʿāt (religious innovations).
✔ It is obligatory upon Muslims to abstain from these practices and follow only what is proven from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the way of the Ṣaḥābah and Salaf.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
