Can We Donate The Thawab Of Charitable Acts Or Qur’an Recitations To The Name Or Soul Of A Dead Person?

Can we donate the thawab of charitable acts or Qur’an recitations to the name or soul of a dead person?

It is permissible to donate the spiritual rewards of worships and good deeds to another person. A person may grant the reward of partial or complete recitation of the Qur’an and a good deed to another person. It is hoped that a person to whom the thawab is granted will benefit from it no matter if s/he is alive or dead. Although the debts of worship (missed or not fulfilled) on a person are not fulfilled by means of the rewards spiritually donated to him/her by another person, they may conduce to the increase of his benevolences and thawabs and rise of his spiritual rank.

A man from Banu Salama tribe asked if he could do any favour for his parents after their death. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied as, “Yes, you can invoke blessings on them, forgiveness for them, carry out their final instructions after their death, join ties of relationship which are dependent on them, and honor their friends.” (Abu Dawud, Adab, 130; Ibn Majah, Adab, 2).

When a Companion said that his mother died suddenly, he thought that she would leave a will for him to give sadaqah if she could speak, and asked whether he could give in charity on her behalf and whether the rewards could reach her, the Prophet (saw) said, “Yes! Give in charity on her behalf .” (Bukhari, Wasaya, 19; Muslim, Zakat, 51).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA