Question:
What are the supplications which are thabit from the Prophet PBUH for deceased parents?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Every living person will surely die and death can never be hastened or delayed even for a second. When the soul detaches from the body, at the same time, it is separated from the world of the living. Thus, his every deed in this world is cut off from him except for three things according to a sahih hadith from Imam Muslim:
- From Abu Hurairah RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ: إِلَّا مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ، أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ
“When a man dies, his acts come to an end, but three, recurring charity, or knowledge (by which people) benefit, or a pious son, who prays for him (for the deceased).”
Sahih Muslim (1631)
Imam al-Nawawi stated that scholars understood the hadith by saying that the deeds of a person end after his death and any new rewards are cut off from him except for these three things. [See: al-Minhaj: 85/11]
According to the above question, there are several supplications that a child can recite for his deceased parents. Here, we include several supplications taught to us by Allah SWT as recorded in the Quran:
- Allah SWT states:
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
“Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.”
Surah Ibrahim (41)
- Allah SWT states:
رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ
“My Lord, forgive me and my parents,”
Surah Nuh (28)
Furthermore, there are no constraints for supplication as long as the supplication or the meaning of the supplication is good and does not contradict the religion then it is permissible, not denying that the best supplication is the supplication from the Quran and sahih hadith of the Prophet PBUH. Moreover, the best supplication is the supplication that is understood by the person and it is not necessarily in Arabic. The reason is if a person supplicates with a supplication that he understands then his heart is present when he supplicates.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, it is permissible for a person to supplicate for his parents with any supplication on the condition that it does not include matters that contradict the religion and the meaning of the supplication is good. Furthermore, a person should be mindful of the manners of supplication so that it will lead to a person having khusyuk while supplicating. May Allah SWT make the souls of our deceased parents be among His believers and place them in the paradise of Firdaus. Amin.
Wallahua’lam.