Do not recite Qur'an at graves

11-12-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it right for one to recite Al-Fatihah at a Muslim's grave?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Reciting Qur'an at the grave is an innovated act which was not known during the era of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam). Imams Malik , Abu Hanifa and Ahmad (in one of his opinions) believe that it is dislikable to recite Qur'an at a grave. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: The Jama'a reported that it is dislikable and this is the opinion of the majority of scholars and that of the rightly guided predecessors . Ibn Qasim said in his Hashiya (commentary) of 'Al-Rawd': If it were a Shariah rite the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) would have ordered his Ummah to do it. Indeed, it is but a depravity similar to praying at graves. It is even a kind of I'tikaf at graves, … etc. the narrations that state reciting Qur'an at graves are all weak. So, they cannot be used as evidence as there is no sound or good Hadith among them. So, it is safer to avoid reciting Qur'an at graves above all in this time where innovations have become widespread and the knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah has become rare. Allah knows best.