Our Dialogue

Q. Why is the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem important for Muslims?


A. The Prophet was asked which mosque was the first to be built, and his answer was: “The Sacred Mosque” in Makkah. His interlocutor then asked him which was the second mosque to be built, and he answered: “The Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem. A further question asked about the time gap between building them, and the Prophet said: “Forty years.” It is well known that the two Prophets built the Sacred Mosque, or the Kaabah: Abraham and his son Ishmael. The Aqsa Mosque was built by Abraham’s grandson, Prophet Jacob, (peace be upon them all).


To emphasize the unity of the divine faith, in all its forms and all periods of history, God took His final messenger, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), from Makkah to Jerusalem, where at the place of the Aqsa Mosque all past prophets were gathered, and he led them in a devotional prayer.


Thus, the Aqsa Mosque takes its position alongside the Sacred Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah as the only three mosques built by Prophets and to which people may travel to offer their worship. No special travel may be taken to pray in any other mosque on earth.

Q. Could you please confirm whether it is permissible to gift the reward of worship and actions to deceased relatives? Please cite evidence. Does it apply to a son or daughter reading the Qur’an and requesting God to credit the recitation to their parents? The Hadith mentions a child praying for deceased parents as one of the three ways by which the dead can benefit. Does this apply to other people as well?


A: It is universally agreed by all scholars that a deceased person continues to benefit by any good action, which he started, initiated or caused during his lifetime. This is based on the Hadith that states: “When a human being dies, all his action comes to an end except in one of three ways: A continuing act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge and a dutiful child who prays for him.” (Related by Muslim, Abu Dawood, Al-Nassaie and others). Needless to say, that all Qur’anic and Hadith references in the masculine form include the feminine as well, unless there is evidence to exclude women from it. The Prophet is also quoted as saying: “In addition to his own action and good deeds, a believer is followed after his death by certain things including knowledge that he might have taught or made available, a good child he left behind, a copy of the Qur’an he left to someone, a mosque he built, a home he left to be used by travelers, running water he caused to be available, a charity he gave away when he was still in good health. All these follow a person after his death.” (Related by Ibn Majah).


As for good deeds by other people, a deceased person benefits by several types of these. One thing that is universally agreed to benefit the dead is to pray for them, appealing to God to forgive them and bestow His mercy on them. The evidence for this is the Qur’anic verse that says: “Those who come after them say: ‘Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, as well as those of our brethren who preceded us in faith, and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against any believers. Our Lord! You are truly compassionate, merciful.” (59: 10) The Prophet also says: “When you offer the janazah prayer for a deceased person, make your prayer for him sincere.” (Related by Abu Dawood and Ibn Hibban). One of the Prophet’s supplications that have been transmitted to us says: “Our Lord! Forgive those of us who are alive and those who have died.” All Muslim generations have prayed for the dead, with no objecting voice ever been heard.


Charity is another act that may be offered on behalf of a dead person and the reward for it goes to him or her. Al-Nawawi says that all scholars universally agree this. A man asked the Prophet: “My father died and left behind some money, but he has made no will. Would it benefit him if I give sadaqah, or charity, on his behalf?” The Prophet said: “Yes.” (Related by Ahmad, Muslim and others). Another Hadith mentions that Saad ibn Ubadah said to the Prophet: “My mother has died. Can I give to charity on her behalf?” The Prophet said: “Yes.” Saad said: “Which type of charity is best?” The Prophet answered: “To provide drinking water.” Saad carried out a project to provide drinking water in Madinah, which continued to be known by his family’s name for a long time.


Offering the pilgrimage and the Umrah on behalf of a deceased person is also one of the best things that may be done. A woman from the Juhaynah tribe said to the Prophet: “My mother made a pledge to offer the pilgrimage, but she did not fulfill her pledge until she died. Should I do the pilgrimage on her behalf?” The Prophet said: “Yes. Do the pilgrimage on her behalf. Had your mother left an unpaid debt, would you not have paid it on her behalf? A debt owed to God has a stronger claim to be paid.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).


Reading the Qur’an and requesting God to credit the reward of the recitation to a deceased person is also acceptable. This is the view of the majority of scholars, although some eminent ones disagree. Those who say that it benefits the deceased make it clear that the reciter must not receive or expect any payment for his recitation. If payment is made, the whole thing is forbidden for both the one who pays and the one who receives, and the recitation earns no reward for anyone.


What should be clear in our minds is that the types of worship that allow fulfillment by proxy, such as the payment of charity, the pilgrimage, etc. can be done on behalf of a dead person, and its reward can be credited to him, if God so pleases. These are treated in the same light as the repayment of outstanding debt. If a person dies with some of his debts remaining unpaid, and his children or a friend repays the creditors, this is perfectly acceptable. Similarly if you pay his outstanding zakah, or fulfill his pilgrimage duty, he receives its reward. Personal acts of worship, such as prayer and fasting in Ramadan cannot be similarly done, because you can pay zakah on behalf of your father or your wife, but you cannot fast or pray on their behalf.

Q.What does the Qur’an say about other creatures, i.e. aliens, on other planets? According to the Qur’an, did dinosaurs exist?


A. The Qur’an is not a book of history, biology, astronomy, or science of any specialty. It is a book of faith, devoted to explaining this faith and putting in place a code of law for human life. It certainly refers to certain aspects of the universe, but does not attempt to give a full picture of what exists, or what lived in the past. When it refers to scientific facts, it does so in as much as these serve its purpose of making the divine faith clear to people. What we can say on the basis of the Qur’an is that life could be present in other parts of the universe. Whether it is the same type of life as ours, or a totally different type, we cannot tell. But it is to be expected that there are numerous other types of life in different parts of the universe. It would not serve any purpose for us to learn about these. Indeed even if we were told of them, we may not be able to understand what they are like, because our thoughts and imagination are limited to what we experience in our own world. Take for example the jinn whom God tells us about. They are created out of fire while we originate from the earth clay. We cannot imagine the substance they are made of, or their nature, because it is beyond what we know. As for dinosaurs, the Qur’an does not mention them. They apparently existed according to the scientific evidence we have.