What Is The Meaning And Ruling On Tazkiyah For A Dead Person?

What is the meaning and ruling on tazkiyah for a dead person?

Tazkiyah means to express testimony that the dead person was a good person. Every Muslim should try to live a life for which people will be witnesses in a good way when s/he dies. However, it is hoped that the dead person will benefit from good testimony of his/her relatives (even if s/he is not good in every aspect). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) stated, “When a Muslim dies if four households out of his close neighbors testify about him as, ‘All we know about this man is good’, Allah the Exalted commands, ‘O ye believers! I accept your knowledge, your witnessing about this dead person, and I forgive his mistakes that are not known by you.” (Ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, XXI, 174)

In order to perform tazkiyah, it will be appropriate to testify for the dead person by answering the question of “What kind of person was this man?” asked before or after funeral prayer, those who think that the dead person was a good one should say, “We know him as a good man”. Those who do not think that the dead person was a good one should keep silent, and those who do not know him should say, “may Allah have mercy on him”. Because Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, “Make a mention of the virtues of your dead, and refrain from (mentioning) their evils.” (Abu Dawud, Adab, 49; Tirmidhi, Jana’iz, 34).

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