visiting graves and reading Quran al Karim

[serhendi]

VISITING GRAVES and READING QUR'AN AL-KARIM



Imam-i Birghiwi (rahmatullahi 'alaih) says in his book Atfal-ul muslimin that it is sunnat to visit Muslims' graves. It is written in Ihya-ul 'Ulum, "It is mustahab to visit graves for remembering death and for taking warning from the dead and getting baraka from the graves of pious Muslims and Walis." To take a warning you imagine how the corpse rots, how its cheeks and lips fall down, how filthy water flows from its mouth, how its abdomen swells and bursts, how worms and insects swarm into it. Hatim-i Asam says, "If a person going by a cemetery does not think of them (the deceased) and pray for them, he has been treacherous to himself and to them." Men have been commanded to visit graves. Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) has censured women who visit graves. Some (savants) say that he has given them permission later. And some (savants) say that it is makruh. It has been unanimously declared (by savants) that it is not permissible for women to carry the janaza. Fatima (radiallahu 'anha) visited Hadrat Hamza's grave, and trimmed and mended it every year. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, "If a person visits the graves of his parents or the grave of one of his parents every Friday, his sins will be pardoned, and he will have paid their rights." Muhammad bin Wasi' visited graves every Friday. When it was suggested to him to visit them on Mondays, he said, "The deceased recognize those who visit them on Fridays, Thursdays and Saturdays." Dahhak says, "The deceased recognizes the person who visits his grave before sunrise on Saturday. This shows the virtue of Friday." Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) visited the graves of his Muslim relatives and of his Sahaba. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, "If a person says the following prayer as he visits the grave of a believer, that deceased person will be relieved from torment till the Rising Day: : Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-hurmati Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' an la-tu'azziba hazal- mayyit." It is written in Shir'a, "For visiting a grave as prescribed by the sunnat, you make an ablution, perform two rakats of namaz and send its thawab to the soul of the deceased person. When you arrive at the cemetery you say, 'Wa 'alaikum salam.' While saying the prayer transliterated above you sit against the deceased person's face. You recite the Surat- al Yasin-i Sharif or other suras that you know. You say tasbihs and pray for the deceased person." Abul Qasim says, "When you read (or recite) suras from the Qur'an near the grave, the deceased person hears your voice and becomes relieved." A hadith ash-Sharif declares, "If a person makes salam as he goes by the grave of someone he knows, the mayyit (deceased person) recognizes him and acknowledges his salam." For this reason, when going by a grave, Abdullah ibn 'Umar (radiallahu 'anh) would stop and give salam. Nafi' says, "Abdullah ibn 'Umar used to come to the grave of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) and say: Assalamu alannabiyy, assalamu Abi Bakr, assalamu ala Abi. I saw him say so more than a hundred times." Al imam-al-Ghazali (rahmatullahi 'alaih) says in his book Ihya, "When visiting a grave, it is mustahab to make salam, to leave the qibla behind you and sit against the mayyit's face. You do not touch the grave with your hands or face or kiss the grave." The best way is to stand by his feet with your back towards the qibla (Ibni Abidin). A hadith ash-Sharif declares, "If a person going by a cemetery says the surat-al Ikhlas eleven times and presents the thawab to the deceased, he will be given as many thawabs as the number of the deceased." Ahmad bin Hanbal 'rahmat-ullahi ta'ala 'alaih' says, "When you go to a cemetery say the sura of Fatiha, the two suras beginning with Qul'a'udhu, and the sura of ikhlas! Send the thawab to the deceased. The thawab will reach all of them."

There are three groups of worships. Worships in the first group of worships are done with property only. Such are zakat and alms. The second of worships group are done both with property and with the body. Such are hajj and jihad. Worships in the third group are done with body alone. In this group are reading Qur'an al-karim, performing namaz, saying tasbih, tahlil and tahmid, and praying. It has been declared unanimously by the savants of Ahl-as sunnat that it is permissible to present the thawab for the first group to the deceased and that the thawab will reach them and will be useful for them. So is the case with praying, which is in the third group. That the case is so with the second group has been argued by most savants. There has been disagreement among the four Madhhabs about those of the third group other than praying. In the Madhhabs of Hanafi and Hanbali the third group are like the first group. Hasan (radiallahu 'anh) says, "If you say the prayer, 'Allahumma Rabb-al-ajsad-ilba liyah wel'izamin-nahirat-illati harajat min-ad-dunya wa hiya bika Muminatun. Ad-hil-alaiha rawhan min 'indika wa salaman minni,' when you enter the cemetery, you will be given as many thawabs as the number of the deceased there." Here we end our translation from the booklet Atfal-ul muslimin. Imam-i Shafi'i and Maliki (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaihima) said that the thawab for the worships done with the body is not given to the deceased ones. But later Shafi'i savants said that if it is made by the deceased person's grave and gifted, or if you make it (read Qur'an al-karim, say a prayer, etc.) at a distance and then "O my Rab, please make equal amount of thawab reach (the deceased)," it will reach the deceased.