Hukm al-Qiraa ala al-Amwat
- Author died
- 1352 AH
- Editions
- al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah
Hukm al-Qiraa ala al-Amwat (The Ruling on Reciting over the Dead) is a legal treatise by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad ibn Ahmad Abd al-Salam al-Shuqayri (d. after 1352 AH / 1934 CE) examining whether the reward of Quranic recitation reaches the deceased and addressing the legal status of reciting over graves .
Background and Content
Al-Shuqayri composed the treatise as an answer to an inquiry regarding whether the reward of reciting the Quran reaches deceased Muslims . In his response, he argues that neither the Prophet ﷺ nor any of his companions recited Quranic chapters over graves or dedicated recitation to the deceased .
To substantiate his position, al-Shuqayri cites prophetic traditions concerning funerary rites, including a narration recorded in Sunan Abi Dawud showing that after burying a deceased person, the Prophet ﷺ stood by the grave and instructed those present to ask for forgiveness and steadfastness on the deceased's behalf . He also references the transmitted supplication upon placing a body in the grave: بسم الله وبالله وفي سبيل الله وعلى ملة رسول الله ("In the name of God, by God, in the cause of God, and upon the religion of the Messenger of God") . Furthermore, he adduces a narration in Sahih Muslim recounting the Prophet's visit to his mother's grave and his instruction to visit graves because they serve as a reminder of death and the afterlife .
Al-Shuqayri concludes that established prophetic practice at graves is restricted to supplication, seeking forgiveness, and taking moral admonition . He adds that the Quran consists of religious rulings, legal limits, and ethical teachings meant for the living, rather than for the benefit of the dead .
Transmission and Publishing
The treatise is cited under related titles, including al-Qira'a lil-Amwat and Hukm al-Qira'ah lil-Amwat Hal Yasilu Thawabuha Ilayhim . Excerpts from the text were quoted by the Quranic exegete Siddiq Hasan Khan in his tafsir Fath al-Bayan fi Maqasid al-Quran . The work was published by Mu'assasat Makka lil-Tiba'a wa-al-I'lam .
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