Abstract:

This essay aims to present two different points of view with regard to permissibleness of reciting Qur’an for the dead, through their own testimonials. The subjects of reciting Qur’an as a praying and bestowing the good deed yielded from it for the spirit of the dead have always been a topic of debate within Islamic tradition as of the early times. Most of the scholars in Islamic tradition are known to have found it favourable while the others have disapproved recitation of the Qur’an and then bestowing the good deed for the dead, deducing from the verse 53 an-Najm: 39 telling “And that there is not for man except that (good) for which he strives”. In classical scholarship, the debate topic seems to have revolved around the question “whether spirits of the dead could avail from the good deeds of the alive, or not”. In recent Islamic world, the opposing point of view targeting recitation of the Qur’an as a prayer is being voiced particularly by Salafi and Wahhabi circles. In contrast with this approach, which is highly popular especially in the modern times, it is a rather widespread custom in Turkish-Islamic tradition to recite Qur’an and al-Fatihah in particular on every occasion. It is fair to say that the epitaph “al-Fatihah for the spirit of the dead” on tombstones is the most well-known symbol of it visually. It can be said that al-Fatihah’s bearing quality of being an abstract and a core of the Qur’an in terms of its meaning and content together with its functionality as a prayer and suppliance for God have been prevailing for nascence of the custom of “al-Fatihah for the spirit of the dead”. Within theological scholarship of modern Wahhabi and Salafi groups, it is clearly recorded that recitation of al-Fatihah succeding the prayer or bestowing it for the spirit of the dead are both innovations “bid’ah” in religion and the innovation in religion is cathegorized as exorbitance. This idea is occasionally grounded by references to miscellaneous works by ibn Taymiyyah (d.728/1328). Ibn Taymiyyah is known to be rather discreet with regard to the innovation in religion. So, Ibn Taymiyyah and his successors’ approaches relevant to recitation of the Qur’an for the dead are highly significant. Likewise, ascertaining Ibn Tymiyyah’s views of this matter in full measure can shed light for the other cases comprising of whether his successors are trasferring his own views in a reliable matter or not, and any disinformation that is possible to exist.

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