Question:

What do the scholars and experts of shari’ah say regarding taking payment to recite the Qur’an for someone who has passed away? Will the deceased still receive any reward?

Answer:

The majority of the scholars agree that the reward from the recitation of the Holy Qur’an reaches the deceased whether the recitation takes place by the grave or somewhere else. When a person recites the Holy Qur’an and the gifts the reward to the deceased then the reward is for both the reciter and the loved one it has been gifted to. This is when the Holy Qur’an has been recited voluntarily without any payment as mentioned by the Hanafi jurists as well as Ibn Qayyum and Ibn Taymiyya.

If the Qur’an is recited upon payment then according the Maliki’s this is permissible and the reward for such a recitation is as Allah ﷻ pleases. The family who are paying the reciter should make an intention that they are giving the money as sadaqa.

And Allah ﷻ knows the best

This fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari