Emphasis on sending Gifts to the Dead

Text and Translation

Sayyid Ibn Tawus adds: while in a graveyard, recite [Surah al-Tawheed](A116) eleven times and dedicate the reward to the dead; it is reported that Almighty Allah will reward the one who does so as many-fold as the number of the dead in that graveyard.

In the book Kamil al-Ziyarah, Imam al-Sadiq (a) is reported to have said, "If you visit your dead before sunrise, they will hear and reply to you; if you visit them after sunrise, they will hear you but they will not reply."

In al-Rawandi's book al-Da'awat, there is a tradition reported from the Holy Prophet (s) discommending visiting the dead at night. The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said to Abu-Dharr, "Do not visit them frequently at night."

In the collection of Shaykh al-Shahid, the Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said: whoever repeats the following words at a grave three times, Almighty Allah shall certainly remove from the dead person in that grave the chastisement on the Resurrection Day:

اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنِّىْ اَسْاَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ اَنْ لَا تُعَذِّبَ هٰذَا الْمَيِّتَ

ALLAAHUMMA INNEE AS-ALUKA BI-HAQQI MUHAMMADIN WA AALI MUHAMMADIN AL LAA TU-A'ZZIBA HAAZAL MAYYIT

O Allah, I ask You by the right of Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad that You do not chastise this dead person.

The following tradition is recorded in the book Jami' al-Akhbar, as reported from one of the Holy Prophet's companions: one day the Holy Prophet (s) said, "Give presents to your dead." "O Allah's Messenger," we asked, "what should we give as presents to our dead?" "Present them alms and supplications," instructed the Holy Prophet (s).

He then added, "Every Friday, the souls of the believers come down to the lowest sky, directly to their houses and homes, and each one of them cries out with a sad tone and weeps, saying, 'O my family members! O my sons! O my father! O my mother! O my relatives! Be kind to us — may Allah have mercy upon you — by presenting us some of what we once possessed! Now, woe and perdition are ours, while the benefits are for others!' Each one of the dead then cries out to his relatives, saying, 'Be kind to us by giving as alms a dirham, a loaf of bread, or a garment, so that Almighty Allah will clothe you from the garments of Paradise.'"

The Holy Prophet (s) then wept so heavily that he could not keep talking; we also wept. He then added, "Those are your brothers-in-faith; they became rotten dust after pleasure and bliss. They now express grief and lamentation, saying, 'Woe to us! Had we given as alms all that we possessed, seeking Almighty Allah's pleasure and obeying Him, we would not have been in need of you.' They then return with regret and grief, calling out, 'Hurry in giving the alms of the dead!'"

The Holy Prophet (s) is also reported to have said, "Whatever alms you give on behalf of the dead, an angel takes that alms in a plate of light, while it shines, to the seventh sky. He then stops at the brink of a ditch and says, 'Peace be upon you, O inhabitants of the graves; your people have gifted you this present.' As the angel enters the grave with that alms, these graves are expanded for their inhabitants. Verily, whoever dedicates alms to a dead person will be given by Almighty Allah rewards as great as Mount Uhud. On the Resurrection Day, he will be placed under the shadow of Almighty Allah's Throne, when there shall be no shadow except Allah's. Because of that alms, he will be saved in his lifetime and after his death."

It has been told that the governor of Khurasan was seen in a dream saying, "Send to me the leftovers that you give to the dogs, because I am in urgent need of these leftovers."