al-Amaal al-Salihat allati yajri lil-insan ajruha wa thawabuha bad al-Mamat
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Al-A‘māl al-Ṣāliḥāt allatī Yajrī lil-Insān Ajruhā wa-Thawābuhā Ba‘d al-Mamāt ("Righteous Deeds Whose Reward and Recompense Continue for a Person After Death") is a treatise by Abū al-Ḥamzah Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī al-Ḥajjājī, completed in 1442 AH / 2021 CE, examining the deeds and obligations whose spiritual rewards persist for or reach a deceased person.
Purpose and Composition
Al-Hajjaji completed the text on 7 Jumada al-Akhirah 1442 AH. He stated that he composed the work as an exhortation for himself and other Muslims, observing that many people neglect actions that bring continuous reward after death. The author noted that earlier scholars had compiled narrations on the subject, citing Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī in his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and Muḥammad ibn ‘Allān al-Bakrī in Dalīl al-Fāliḥīn, both of whom also composed didactic poetry summarizing those deeds.
Structure and Contents
The treatise opens with an introduction and a prelude (tamhīd) highlighting Qur'anic verses related to the ongoing impact of human deeds, such as إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِ الْمَوْتَى وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُبِينٍ (Surah Ya-Sin: 12), Surah al-Infitar: 5, and Surah al-Qiyamah: 13. The main body of the work is organized into five thematic chapters (mabāḥith):
- Ongoing Charity (al-Ṣadaqah al-Jāriyah): Covers the textual evidence for ongoing charity, specific examples mentioned in hadiths (such as digging wells, planting date palms, building mosques, and bequeathing copies of the Qur'an), examples from the practices of the Prophet's Companions, and legal rulings governing religious endowments (waqf).
- Beneficial Knowledge (al-‘Ilm al-Muntafa‘ bih): Details the textual proofs for teaching and disseminating beneficial religious knowledge and analyzes relevant hadiths.
- Supplication (al-Du‘ā’): Focuses on the benefits reaching the deceased through the prayers of their righteous children in particular, as well as general supplications offered by Muslims.
- Death While Stationed on Guard (Mawt al-Murābiṭ fī Sabīl Allāh): Discusses textual evidences affirming the continuous accrual of deeds for someone who dies while stationed on military guard duty (ribāṭ) for God's cause.
- Fulfilling Remaining Liabilities (al-A‘māl al-Ṣāliḥah al-Muta‘alliqah bi-Dhimmat al-Insān ‘inda Mawtih): Examines duties performed on behalf of the deceased to clear their liabilities, divided into rights owed to God (such as performing missed Hajj and Umrah, making up fasts, and fulfilling unperformed vows) and rights owed to fellow humans (such as debt repayment).
In the conclusion (khātimah), the author synthesizes all textual evidences into these five categories and concludes with original didactic verses summarizing the treatise.
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