(1) Recurring Charity;
(2) Knowledge by which the people are benefited;
(3) Pious progeny who pray for their dead parents.
How benevolent and generous is Almighty God in providing the means of getting the reward of good works after death when the time of performing good deeds has ended and all parts of the body cease to function and the dead person is laid to rest in the grave. In the above tradition, Muhammad Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has made mention of only three works which are rewarded after man’s death :
(1) Recurring charity— a charity the reward of which never ends. For example, if a man has erected a mosque for the people to observe their prayers, he would get its reward as long as the people observe their prayers in it. Similarly, if a man créates a Trust or donates a public house or a building for the benefit of the Muslims or for the promotion of some religious work, he would get its reward. If he gets the well sunk for the public good, he would get its reward as long as the people would drink water from it or perform their ablutions with its water. In another tradition, Muhammad Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has given instructions that a man, after his death, is rewarded for :
(1) imparting education to somebody and diffusion of knowledge;
(2) leaving virtuous children behind him;
(3) endowment made for the distribution of copies of the Holy Qur’an;
(4) Constructing a mosque or a public house ;
(5) excavating a canal for the public good ;
(6) giving charity in such a way that he would get its reward after his death, that is to say, it must be in the nature of recurring charity, such as the establishment of a trust of some property. Diffusion of knowledge includes donations to a school, compilation of a religious book or its distribution among the readers or donauons of the Holy Qur’an or religious books to a mosque or a school. According to another tradition, a man, after his death, is rewarded for :
(1) imparting education to somebody ;
(2) digging a canal for the public good ;
(3) digging a well ;
(4) planting a tree ;
(5) constructing a mosque;
(6) leaving virtuous children behind him who seek forgiveness for him.
It is not necessary that he should have performed the above works single-handed. Even if he had a little share in a work, he would get its reward in proportion to the share contributed by him. The second thing which has been mentioned in the above tradition is the knowledge of religion. For example donation of a book to a school. So long as the book is there and the people derive benefit from it, he will get its reward unceasingly. Suppose a man gives financial help to a student to enable him to learn the Holy Qur’an by heart or to receive religious education.
In this case the former will get his reward as long as the people derive benefit from the knowledge of a Hafiz or the religious scholar, as the case may be, whether he is alive or dead. Take another example. A man gives financial help to a student to enable him to learn the Holy Qur’an by heart. The latter after teaching the Holy Qur’an to ten or twenty students, dies. In this case Hafiz will get recurring reward. The man who gave financial help to Hafiz would get its reward separately. He will get his reward automatically even until the doomsday as long as the students are taught the Holy Qur’an by one Hafiz after the other.
Simi-larly, if a man gives financial help to a student in order to enable him to receive education, he would get its reward as long as the people would derive benefit, directly or indirectly from the knowledge of the religious scholar. that he should have given financial help to the student independently. Even if he had a share in it, he would get its reward till the Day of Resurrection in proportion to the share held by him.
Fortunate are the persons who dedicate their lives to the diffusion of religious knowledge, to the promotion of some religious work or to learn the Holy Qur’an by heart. Life in this world is nothing but a fleeting shadow which may disappear at any time without notice. It is only the provision of good works done in this world that matters and is useful. A man should not place reliance on his friends, companions and relatives because they will remember him only for a day or two after which they will get themselves absorbed in their own affairs and will forget him.
He should, therefore, try to amass the wealth of good deeds during his life and deposit it in the solvent bank so that the capital remains intact and benefits accrue to him till the Day of Resurrection. The third thing which has been mentioned in the above tradition is a virtuous progeny that seeks forgiveness for him. Firstly, the act of bringing up virtuous children is itself a recurring charity. Needless to say,
In this case too it is not necessary children will be rewarded so long as they do good deeds but if they also pray for their parents (when the children are virtuous they will certainly pray for their parents), it is the parents who will be rewarded. As has been mentioned in Qyssa-1-Roze, there was a pious woman called Baheeta. She devoted much of her time to extol Almighty God. When she was on the verge of death, she raised her head and prayed to God that she might not be disgraced at the time of death because she had placed reliance only on the provision she had stored for the journey.
She also prayed to God that she might be protected against the torments of the grave. When she died, herson visited her grave on every Friday, and after reciting the Holy Qur’an he bestowed its reward on her. Not only he prayed for his mother but also for those who were buried in that graveyard. Once he saw his mother in a dream and asked her about her health. intense she told him that by the grace of God she was feeling comfortable. She further teld that scented herb was spread under her and she reclined on silky pillows and that she would be treated in the same way till the Day of Resurrection. He asked her if he would be of any service to her. She advised him not to give up the habit of visiting her and reciting the Holy Qur’an on her grave every Friday. She told him that when he came, the dead bodtés buried in that gravevard gave She was much pleased The boy is reported to have said that after that he became more
Admitting that the agonies of death were her glad tidings of his arrival, to see him there and so were the others. punctual. He saw in a dream that a large number women had approached him. He They told him that they had come from the graveyard to thank him for men and enquired of them who they were, for his paying visits to them on every Friday and for seeking forgiveness for them. They were very pleased with him. They also urged him not to givup the habit of visiting them on every Friday. After that he became more punctual. Another religious
A scholar says that a person saw in a dream that all the graves in a graveyard were cleft all of a sudden and the dead bodies, after coming out of their graves, began to pick up something from the ground in hot haste. A person, however, was sitting idle and did not pick up anything. He approached and greeted him and asked him what those people were gathering. The man replied that they were gathering the graces of such charities, prayers, blessings etc., as were sent to them by the living persons. He asked the man why he was not gathering the graces. The man told him that he need not do so, as his son, who sold Zalabia (a kind of pudding which sticks to the mouth) in a certain bazaar, recited the Holy Qur’an once daily and sent its blessings to him.
The next morning, when he got up, he went to that bazaar. He saw a young man, who was selling Zalabia, and his lips were stirring. He asked the young man what he was muttering. The latter replied that he recited the Holy Qur’an once daily and sent its blessings to his dead father. Long after this incident he onge again saw in a dream that the dead bodies of that graveyard were gathering something and that man whom he had seen before was also gathering. He woke up and wondered at what he had seen Getting up next morning, he made for the same bazaar. On inquiring of him he came to know that that boy had passed away. Hadrat Saleh Mari (mercy of Allah be upon him) says that in the small hours of Friday morning he was on his way to the principal mosque to say his Dawn Prayer. It had not yet dawned.
A graveyard lay on the way. When he reached there, he sat down near a grave, and fell asleep. He saw in a dream that all the graves were cleft and the dead bodies, after coming out of their graves, began to talk to one another happily. Among them was a young man, who was clad in shabby clothes and looked gloomy. He preferred to sit at a secluded place. After a while, many angels, who had trays in their hands, descended from the sky. The trays were wrapped over with the coverings of divine light. The angels gave one tray to every person, and whoever took it went into the grave. After the trays were distributed, the young man too was about to return empty handed. He asked the young man why he was sad and what was wrapped in the trays.
The young man told that those trays contained the offerings which were sent to the dead bodies by the living persons. The young man told that there was none to send him an offering except his mother who had married again and had entangled herself in the worldly affairs. As she was pre-occupied with her husband, she had forgotten him. He asked the young man what was his mother’s address. In the morning he went there and called his mother behind the purdah. He described to her the condition of her son. She acknowledged the young man to be her son, her flesh and blood, her very life.
After this she gave him one thousand dirhams and asked him to give that amount as a charity for the benefit of his son, the apple of her eyes. She assured him that she would never forget him and would remember him with prayers and charities. Hadrat Saleh (may Allah be pleased with him) says that he saw in a dream the same scene that he had seen before. Among the dead bodies was the same young man, who was clad in an elegant attire and looked happy.
The young man came running towards him and addressing him as Saleh said that Almighty ‘God might reward him for that favour. He acknowledged that he had received the offering sent to him. Thousands of such episodes are found in various books. Ifa person wants that his children may be of use to him after his death, he should try to make them as good and virtuous as possible, which, in fact, is 1 beneficial not only for his children but also for him; There is a verse in Sura Tahrim, the English translation of which is ;
"O believers! Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, overseen by formidable and severe angels, who never disobey whatever Allah orders—always doing as commanded."— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran.”’
[Surah Tahrim: Ayat 6]
There arenumerous traditions which reveal that whosoever treads a right course, he will not only be rewarded for his good deeds but also for the deeds of those who are influenced by his examples. Those who adopt his course will get separate reward. Whosoever takes to an evil course, he will be liable not only for his own guilt but also for the guilts of those who are influenced Those who adopt his evil course responsible for their guilts. by his bad examples. will be individually According to another tradition, when a man dies, his deeds are not rewarded. But the good deeds of those who obev the commands of Allah, go on increasing till the Day of Resurrection
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