The reward (Thawab) of physical and
financial good deeds is conveyed and received in favour
of the other Muslim and it is permissible, in support of
which there are many proofs provided by the verses of
the Holy Qur'an, AHadith of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be
Upon Him) and the sayings (statements) of the religious
scholars. The Holy Qur'an has stressed upon Muslims to
pray for the welfare of other Muslims as brothers and
well wishers in the Islamic fraternity; funeral prayer
of deceased Muslim is a glaring example in this behalf.
In the Mishkaat, Babul Fitan, Babul Malaahim, Chapter
Two, there is a saying of Hadrat Abu Huraira:
يضمن
لي منكم أن أصلي في مسجد العشاء ، يعني بالأيلة ركعتين
أو أربعة ، يقول هذه عن أبي هريرة
Is there any of you who will
undertake to pray two or four rak'ahs on my behalf
in the mosque of al-Ashshar, stating, "they are on
behalf of Abu Hurayrah"
Sunan Abi Dawood,
Kitab al-Malaahim, Vol 2, Page 244, Hadith 3754
Shau'ab al-Iman lil
Bayhaqi, Bab al Fadail al-Hajj wa al-Umrah, Vol. 9, Page
152, Hadith 3960
From the above narration three clear problems and their
solutions can be deduced namely:
- To offer physical act of worship
(Namaz) with the intention of conveying the thawab
of that Namaz to any other person is permissible.
- To utter by the tongue praying
Almighty Allah to convey the thawab to so and so (by
Name) is much better than simple intention.
- To offer the Namaz in the Masjid
of some righteous saintly person with the intention
of receiving more thawab is also permissible.
Fatiha, Teeja (Fatiha made on the 3rd day after a
person's death), Daswaan (the 10th day after) and
Chaliswaan (on the 40th day after) etc. pertain to the
exclusive category of Eesal-e-Thawab and not for
receiving any benefit for one's own self! On these
occasions Fatiha (recitation of Qur'an a kind of
physical deed of goodness) and Sadqah (a mode of
financial involvement) are done mainly, rather
exclusively for conveying the reward (Eesal-e-Sawab), in
favour of the deceased persons whether near and dear
ones or some spiritual dignitaries (Awliyal Allah) who
are in themselves the fountain heads of blessing and
beneficence for their devotees.
In Tafsir Ruh al-Bayan, it is said while commenting on
the verse 155 of Surah An'aam:
وعن
حميد الاعرج قال من قرء القران و ختمه ثم دعا امن علي
دعائه اربعة الاف ملک ثم لايزالون يدعون له و يستغفرون
و يصلون عليه الي المساء او الي الصباح
It is reported from Hadrat Aa'raj
that the person who completes the recitation of the
Holy Qur'an from beginning (at a stretch or with
intermittent intervals) then prays for its
acceptance along with the fulfillment of his desires
in the Presence of Almighty Allah, on that occasion
four thousand angels say Aameen and they (the
angels) remain engaged in the prayer (Dua) for the
betterment and forgiveness of that person from
morning to evening or from evening to morning.
[Tafsir Rooh al-Bayan,
Vol. 3, Page 156/157, Under Verse 155 of Surah al-An'aam]
This very subject has
also been mentioned in the book of Imam Nawawi's Kitab
al Azkaar, Chapter relating to the Tilawat (recitation
of the Holy Quran).
It is evident from the above presented reference that
the prayer begged from Almighty Allah on the conclusion
of the Completion of recitation of the Qur'an (known as
Khatm-e-Quran), is granted by Almighty Allah. The deed
of Eesal-e-Sawab is also a dua (invocation) in the
Presence of Almighty Allah. This means that if the
Eesal-e-Sawab is done when the Tilawat of the Quran has
been done in full, it shall be most beneficial both for
the person for whom the Eesal-e-Sawab is intended and
the person or persons who help completing the reciting
of the Quran for that purpose.
In the book Ash'atul Lam'at it is said in the chapter
Ziyaratil Qubur (visiting the graves ),
وتصدق
کردہ شوداز میت بعد رفتن اداز عالمتا ہفت روز
"After the death of the deceased, the sadqah should
be given for seven days".
[Ashiat al-Lam'at,
Vol. 1, Page 716]
At another place in the some book it is said,
وبعض
روایات آمدہ است کہ روح میت مے آید خانہ خورا شب جمعہ
پس نظرمی کند کہ تصدق کنند از دے یا نہ
"The soul of the deceased visits its home in the
night of Friday to see whether the inmates
(relatives) are offering sadqah or not."
[Ashiat al-Lam'at,
Vol. 1, Page 716]
From this it is seen that at places where breads are
distributed for seven days continuously (daily) after
the demise of the relative and offer Fatiha regularly on
each Thursday, the ceremony has this origin as to its
admissibility.
In the book Anwar-e-Sati'ah and Hashiyah
Khazanat ar-Riwayaat it is written that
Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of
Allah be Upon Him) offered sadqah on the third,
seventh and fortieth day of the martyrdom of
Sayyiduna Hamzah and repeated the same at every
sixth months and at the end of the year.
[Anwaar-e-Sati'ah,
Page 145]
This is the origin and
reality of the generally known Teeja, Chaaleewan, Shash
Mahi (sixth monthly) and Barsi (yearly) Fatiha among the
sunni Muslims.
Imam al-Nawawi Alaihir raHma has said:
Hadrat Anas bin Malik used to gather
his family members on the occasion of Khatm al-Quran
and offered Fatiha, in the Presence of Allah for the
welfare of all. [Kitab
al-Azkaar, Baab Tilawatil Qur'an]
Hakeem Ibn Utbah says that
Once Ibn Abi Lubabah invited a group
of the people and told them that he had invited them
at his home because he was completing the Khatm al-Qur'an
on that day so that they might benefit thereby as
the dua on that auspicious occasion receives the
acceptance from the Almighty Allah.
[Kitab
al-Azkaar, Baab Tilawatil Qur'an]
It is also reported by Hadrat Mujahid on reliable
authority that
Some righteous persons used to gather
the people on the occasion of the Khatm al-Qur'an
and told them that on this occasion, the Mercy (Rahmat)
from Allah descends upon those present there.
[Kitab
al-Azkaar, Baab Tilawatil Qur'an]
This provides sanction
from holding the gathering on the occasions of Teejah,
and Cheh'lam (Chaliswan) is a practice among the saintly
persons of the Ahlus Sunnah, which is in a sense their
sunnah.
In Raddul Muhtar it is said that according to a Hadith:
من قرأ
الإِخلاص أحد عشر مرة ثم وهب أجرها للأموات أعطي من
الأجرِ بعدد الأموات
If a person recites Surah Ikhlas
eleven times and conveys its thawab to the deceased
Muslims, then he himself shall receive the thawab
equal to the total reward given to the souls of the
deceased Muslims.
[Raddul Muhtar, Qir'at lil Mayyit, Baab ad-Dafan,
Vol. 1, Page 666]
It is said in the Shaami:
و يقرء من القران ماتيسرله من الفاتحة و اول البقرة و
اية الکرسي و امن الرسول و سورة يس و تبارک الملک و
سوره التکاثر و الاخلاص اثني عشر مرة او احدي عشر او
سبعا او ثلاثا ثم يقول اللهم اوصل ثواب ماقرئناه الي
فلان او اليهم
One may recite the Holy Qur'an by way
of Fatiha, on any particular occasion in the
following manner: In the beginning Surah Fatiha,
then the first there verses of the Surah Baqrah then
Ayat-ul-Kursi, the last three verses of the Surah
Baqrah, then Surah Yasin, Surah Mulk, Surah Takathur
and in the end Surah Ikhlas the last one recited
Twelve times or Eleven times or Seven times or Three
time then pray to Almighty Allah for the
Eesal-e-Sawab in favour of so and so person or
persons. [Raddul
Muhtar, Qir'at lil Mayyit, Baab ad-Dafan, Vol. 1,
Page 666]
In the above passages
full procedure of the known offering of Fatiha has been
outlined, which in short is that the man offering Fatiha
should recite the Holy Qur'an from different places and
finally pray to Almighty Allah to grant the reward of
the recitation in favour of or persons concerned. Since
it is sunnah to raise hand at the time of final prayer
of Eesal-e-Sawab, the man should raise both palms joined
together up to the shoulders. Thus the proof of the
Fatiha is established.
It is said in the Fatawa Aziziyah:
طعامیکہ ثواب آن نیاز حضرت امامین نمایند برآں قل و
فاتحہ ودرود خواندن متبرک می شود وخوردن بسیار خوب است
"The Fatiha which is intended for Hadrat Imam Hasan
and Hadrat Imam Hussain on the food prepared for the
occasion should be offerred with the recitation of
the Surah Fatiha accompanied by four Quls and the
Durood which is the source of blessing and eating
the food prepared for the occasion is also
blissful." [Fatawa
Aziziyah, Page 75]
In the Fatawa-e-Azizia, at page 41 it is
said:
اگر
مالیدہ و شیر برائے فاتحہ بزرگے بقصد ایصال ثواب بروح
ایشاں پختہ بخوراند جائز است مضائقہ نیست
"If the Fatiha for the thawab of the Awliya Allah is
offered on the food prepared with the milk and the
bread meshed together (known as Maleedah) is also
permissible and there is no harm in doing so."
[Fatawa Aziziyah,
Vol. 1 , Page 41]
ؑEven the Teeja of Shah Waliullah (who the opposition
accepts as their leader) took place. It is recorded in
Malfoozat-e-Abdul Aziz:
روز
سوم کثرت ہجوم مردم آں قدر بود کہ بیروں از حساب است
ہشتادویک کلام اللہ بہ شمار آمدہ و زیادہ ہم شدہ باشد
و کلمہ را حصریست
In the Teeja (3rd after the demise) of Shah
Waliyullah there was a huge crowd of persons who
could not be counted easily and number of the
Khat'm-e-Qur'an was no less then eighty one or more
and the repetition of the Kalima-e-Tayyabah was
literally beyond numbers.
[Malfoozat-e-Abdul
Aziz, Page 80]
This justifies the
ceremony of the Fatiha and Teeja and the recitation of
the Holy Qur'an as much as it is convenient preferably
the Khatm-e-Qur'an.
Qasim Nanotvi of Madrissa Deoband, writes in his book
Tehzeer an-Naas:
جنید
کے کسی مرید کا رنگ یکایک متغیر ہوگیا۔ آپ نے سبب
پوچھا تو بروے مکاشفہ اس سے یہ کہا کہ اپنی ماں کو
دوزخ میں دیکھتا ہوں حضرت جنید نے ایک لاکھ پانچ ہزار
بار کلمہ پڑھا تھا یوں سمجھ کر بعض روایات میں اس قدر
کلمہ کے ثواب پر وعدہ مغفرت ہے، آپ نے جی ہی جی میں اس
مرید کی ماں کو بخش دیا اور اس کی اطلاع نہ دی۔ بخشتے
ہی کیا دیکھتے ہیں کہ وہ جوان ہشاش بشاش ہے۔ آپ نے سبب
پوچھا۔ اس نے عرض کیا کہ اپنی ماں کو جنت میں دیکھتا
ہوں۔ آپ نے اس پر یہ فرمایا کہ اس جوان کے مکاشفہ کی
صحت تو مجھ کو حدیث سے معلوم ہوئی۔ اور حدیث کی تصحیح
اس کے مکاشفہ سے ہوگئی۔
"In a meeting, the colour of the face of one Murid
of Hadrat Junaid changed suddenly (due to fear).
Hadrat Junaid asked him the reason for this sudden
fear, the murid explained through mukashifah that he
has seen his mother in the hell. Hadrat Junaid had
previously recited the Kalima one Lac and five
thousand times. Believing that as he had come to
know according to certain traditions (riwayat) that
by reciting the Kalima for one Lac and five thousand
times and the Eesal-e-Thawab thereof in favour of
certain deceased there is hope that the deceased
shall be granted forgiveness by Almighty Allah,
Hadrat Junaid offered the thawab of the said Kalima
to the mother of his murid, secretly and silently in
his heart without informing the murid. Within a few
moments the murid was seen bursting with delight and
happiness. On being asked the reason of this sudden
change he said that he was seeing his mother
joyfully admitted in the Paradise Then Hadrat Junaid
explained the situation and said that he had come to
know the Mukashifah correctness of the young man
through the Hadith and the correctness of the Hadith
was confirmed by the Mukashifa of that man."
[Tehzeer al-Naas,
Page 24]
From this passage it is observed that through the
recitation of the Kalima Tayyaba one lac and five
thousand times, and on being given reward to him, it is
hoped that the deceased Muslim shall be forgiven of his
short comings in the world. This tradition of
Esal-e-Thawab has been accepted as the part of the Teeja.
The only aspect for consideration is
whether the food should be kept in front and then offers
the Fatiha, by raising hands. There are many Ahadith
concerning this point. It is recorded in Mishkaat Sharif,
Chapter of Miracles (Al-Mu'jizaat). It is reported by
Hadrat Abu Huraira that once he brought some dates in
the presence of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and
requested him to pray for its abundant growth
فضمهن
ثم دعا لي فيهن بالبرکة
The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)
mixed these dates together and prayed for increased
growth of the dates (dry fruit).
[Tirmidhi, Bab al-Manaqib,
Vol 12, Page 327, Hadith 3774]
It is recorded in the Mishkaat, Babul Mujizat that in
the Battle of Tabuk,
At one stage of the battle a shortage
of food was felt in the Islamic army. The Holy
Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) asked every man present
there to bring whatever was with him. Every one
brought whatever was with him and presented it to
the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). The tablecloth
was spread. The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)
prayed for the blessing over the food so spread.
After this he asked the men to put back the food in
the utensils (pots) as a reserve for eating at the
food time. [Mishkat
al-Masabih, Baab al-Maujizat, Page 539]
In the same Mishkaat, it is also recorded that
On the wedding of the Holy Prophet
(peace be upno him) with Hadrat Zainab, Hadrat
Umm-e-Saleem prepared a small quantity of valima in
celebration of the wedding. But the Holy Prophet
(Peace Be Upon Him) invited a large number of
Companions to attend the Valima. The food was
obviously short. The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon
Him) recited some prayer on the food and passed his
Holy hand over the food.
[Mishkat al-Masabih,
Baab al-Maujizat, Page 539]
There is yet another incident of praying over the food
for the blessing in the food which is recorded in the
same Mishkaat and it is that
On the occasion of the battle of
Trench (Ghazwa-e-Khandaq), the Companion Hadrat
Jabir prepared some small quantity of food for the
Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). When the Holy
Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) came to Hadrat Jabir, He
brought some kneaded flour with intent for prayer
for its sufficiency to feed the number of
guest-companions whom the Holy Prophet (Peace Be
Upon Him) had brought with them to participate in
taking the food. The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon
Him) offered Dua for the barakah in the food and
mixed his blessed saliva (lu'ab) as a token of
blessing. [Mishkat
al-Masabih, Baab al-Maujizat, Page 539]
However, it suffices to prove that necessary stages of
the Fatiha described in these lines, prove the Fatiha as
a permissible offering for the purpose of Eesal-e-Sawab.
It is now clear that Fatiha is the combination of the
above mentioned two things namely, the recitation of the
Quran and Sadqah which are obviously permissible as well
as the means and medium of blessing (barkat) in their
own way. Then why should the combination of these two in
the offering of Fatiha be considered as Haram, when the
intent has no mundane or worldly gain in the offering of
Fatiha?
For obvious reasons when the ingredients
of many eatables are halal, then on what grounds the
combination of these ingredients be declared as unlawful
or haram when the prepared combination does not produce
any objectionable result which is not permissible in the
laws of the shariah. The other point to observe in this
regard is that the thing for which fatiha or dua for
blessing is sought, should be placed before the person
doing the dua. This is sunnah and the tradition of the
Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) as we have seen that in
the cases mentioned in these lines the things for which
blessing was prayed were placed before the Holy Prophet
(Peace Be Upon Him). The funeral pier (Janaza) of the
deceased is placed in front of the Imam who leads the
funeral prayer and offers the Dua forgiveness in the
Presence of Allah. Just in the same way the foodstuff on
which blessing is sought is placed before the person
offering the dua. There appears no valid justification
for objecting this gesture of seeking Blessings from
Almighty Allah. It is said that the Syeduna Rasoolullah
Sallallaho Alaihi Wa Sallam while sacrificing the animal
of Qurbani prayed for the blessings in favour of the
Ummah while the animal of sacrifice lay before him, he
recited he following dua on that occasion:
اللهم
هذا من امة محمد
O Allah! Accept this Qurbani
(Sacrifice) on behalf of my Ummah.
[Sunan Abi Dawood,
Vol. 2, Page 30]
The Dua on the occasion of Aqiqa is also recited over
the sacrificial animal that remains before the sight.
Reciting Bismillah before eating the food kept in front
is the command of the Shariagh. Bismillah, as we all
know, is the verse of the Holy Qur'an. Fatiha for
Eesal-e-Sawab or blessing is the process on a larger
scale but not different in any way!
The leader of the prohibitors of the Fatiha is also in
favour of the Fatiha in the current manner. Shah
Waliyullah in his book Kitabul Intibah fi Salassil
Auliya writes as under.
پس دہ
مرتبہ درود خوانند ختم تمام کنند بر قدرے شیرینی فاتحہ
بنام خواجگان چشت عموماً بخواند و حاجت از خدا سوال
نمایند
"Then recite the Durood ten times and after
completing it offer the Fatiha in the name and on
behalf of the Khwajgan-e-Chisht on some sweets and
then pray to Allah for His Blessing."
[Kitabul
Intibah fi Salassil Auliya, Page 114]
Shah Waliyullah in his other book 'Zubdatun Nasaaiq'
writes while replying to a question addressed to him:
وشیر
برنج بر فاتحہ بزرگے بقصد ایصال ثواب بروح الیشاں یزند
و بخورند مضائقہ نیست و اگر فاتحہ بنام بزرگے وادہ شود
اغنیا راہم خوردن جائز است
"Offer Fatiha on the food cooked with the mixture of
rice and milk for the Eesal-e-Sawab of some Wali
Allah and eat some of this yourself besides offering
to the poor and the needy, If the Fatiha is offered
in the name of some mystic great personality. Then
this can be taken even by rich and the well to do
persons." [Zubdat
an-Nasaiq, Page 132]
Hadrat Haji Imdadullah, the Murshid of
Ashraf Ali Thanwi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi has written
in his book 'Faisla Haft Mas'alah'
"No one has any objection and it is
acceptable to all that the issue of Eesal-e-Thawab
by itself for the blessings of the deceased persons
is justifiable; however if the Fatiha or
Eesal-e-Sawab is done in the name of some chosen
person and restrict in the blessing thereof
exclusively to that personality, believing it as
Fard or Wajib, then such a course is prohibited
except that this exclusive offering is on account of
some specific reason without believing as Fard and
Wajib, then such an offering can be allowed. This
may be taken as or suggesting recitation of certain
part of the Holy Qur'an in the offering of some
Nawafils or other suggested prayers. The latter
course has the approval and consent of the religious
scholars, for example, practice of some Mashaikh in
the Namaz of Tahajjud."
[Faisla Haft
Mas'alah]
Then at another place he says:
"Though the intent in the heart for
offering any namaz is permissible, but in order to
have a kind of union between the heart and the
tongue, it is advisable if the intent (Niyat) of the
Namaz may also be uttered by tongue. Apropos of this
holy intent in respect of the Namaz, if a few words
O Allah! Grant the thawab of this Fatiha to some
deceased. It should be taken as something
permissible, This in other words, justifies the
offering of the Fatiha or Eisale Sawab, as is
usually done by devotees of the Sunnat wal Jama'at,
especially some portion of the Holy Qur'an is also
recited in the latter occasions in which the sawab
of the Quran will be added to the offering of Fatiha.
The most striking feature of this admissibility of
the Nazar-o-Niyaz as the high ideals expressed by
the great scholar"
[Faisla Haft
Mas'alah]
Hadrat Haji Sahib continues saying:
"The Giyarhween of Ghaus Pak, Daswan,
Beeswan, Chehlam, Shashmahi and Salan (The fatiha
ceremonies of the day, twentieth day, fortieth day,
the Sixth montly and the Annual Fatihas), Tosha of
Hadrat Shaikh Abdul Haq and Barsini of Hadrat Shah
Bu Ali Qalander, the Halwa of Shab-e-Bra'at and
other modes of fatiha etc come within the purview of
this general admissibility."
[Faisla Haft
Mas'alah]
The broad hearted words of the great Pir Sahib have
settled the problem of Fatiha as a great and worth while
decision in this behalf, on the moral logical,
philosophical, religious, and spiritual grounds, leaving
no justifiable excuse or objection in this behalf and if
any such things crop up by way of objection or denial
then it will not be difficult to answer them
effectively!