Q. You mentioned certain actions we can do to increase the reward of our parents after their death. One is praying for them. Is there a particular prayer? Should it be said after each obligatory prayer, or as often as possible? If one wants to pay charity on their behalf, it is sometimes very difficult to establish that those who are taking it are really poor. How to make sure? Is it true that the best thing is to read Surah Al-Ikhlas 100,000 times in Tasbeeh prayer and gift its reward to one’s parents?
(Name and address withheld)
A. The best prayer, or dua’, to say for our deceased parents, and even when they are alive, is that which God has taught us in the Qur’an: “’My Lord, bestow on them Your grace, even as they reared and nurtured me when I was a child.” (17: 24) Another prayer is that mentioned in the Qur’an as said by the Prophet Noah: “My Lord! Grant forgiveness to me and to my parents.” (71: 28) If you combine the two, you will be acting on the Prophet’s advice and saying the best prayers for them. In Arabic, it is a short prayer that says: “Rabbi-ghfir lee wa liwalidayy. Rabbi-rhamhuma kama rabbayani sagheera.” We normally say this prayer at the end of each prayer, whether obligatory or recommended, just before we finish the prayer with salam. But it can be said at any time: The more often the better.
When you pay charity, whether voluntary i.e. sadaqah, or obligatory i.e. zakah, you should try hard to ensure that it is given to people who really need it. You can always make your own inquiries about the status of people in your area, or seek advice from people around you. If there is a local committee that collects and distributes zakah and charity, and you are sure that its members are honest and seek to help those who are really poor in the community, you can pay it to them. Generally speaking, do not pay it to beggars, because begging is forbidden in Islam, except in the three cases outlined by the Prophet.
Islam does not like reciting surahs of the Qur’an, or glorifications of God, in very large numbers, because this tends to be mechanical, giving no chance to the person to reflect on the meaning of what one is saying. This means that reading a short surah 100,000 times is not recommended. There is no authentic Hadith that suggests that the Prophet encouraged such reading. As for Tasbeeh prayer, which people mention as strongly recommended, it is in fact mentioned in a single Hadith that is lacking in authenticity. Scholars of great knowledge confirm that it is not recommended.
