Save your Family from Hellfire

Praise is due to Allah the Almighty, peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Prophet Muhammad, his Family, his Companions and whosoever follows him. Allah the Almighty says:

  {يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ. وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ. وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ. لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ} [عبس: 34-37]

Interpretation of the Verses: (On the Day a man will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his wife and his children. For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him) [Abasa: 34-37].

These Verses encourage us to find the optimal ways and methods to make our family members get benefits and rewards before the Day of Judgement. In essence, these Verses inspire us to investigate for saving our family with the Grace of Allah the Almighty from Hellfire. Praise is due to Allah the Almighty, we have blessed with many opportunities to support our family members whether they are alive or dead.

Teach them Islam Ethics and Virtues of Good Deeds

The most important act you do in order to benefit your family is teaching them Islam ethics and the virtues of good deeds. As a result, they will become closer to Allah the Almighty to get into Paradise and avoid a lot of evils and sins. Allah the Almighty says:

{كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم مِّنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ} [آل عمران: 110]

Interpretation of Verse: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient” [Aal-Imran: 110].

You have to educate the family about Tawheed, rejecting the shirk,  struggle to teach them the prayer and how to do it, motivate them to recite the Holy Quran, explain the virtues of good deeds to them, encourage them to give alms and  charity and emphasize on the importance of morning and evening supplications. We all have this great duty to deliver the message of Islam to all people and most importantly to our family members.

Charity

One of the most beautiful methods to help our family members is to pay a charity on their behalf. There are two authentic Ahadeeth regarding this precious method. The Mother of believers, 'Aishah (May Allah the Almighty be pleased with her) reported: A man said to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم): "My mother has died suddenly. I think that if she were able to talk (alive) she would have given in Sadaqah (charity). So, if I give Sadaqah now on her behalf, will she get the reward?" The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, "Yes (i.e. she will be rewarded for that)" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Moreover, it was narrated by Ibn `Abbas (may Allah the Almighty be pleased with him): The mother of Sa`d bin 'Ubada (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father) died when he was away from her. He said: "O Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم), my mother has died and I am away from her. Will it benefit her anything if I give in charity on her behalf?" He said, "Yes." He said, "Then I ask you to be my witness that I am giving my garden al-Mikhraaf (so called because it bore so many dates) in charity on her behalf." (al-Bukhaari).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it permissible for a man to give money in charity and to share the reward for it with someone else? He replied: It is permissible for a person to give money in charity and intend for it to be on behalf of his father, his mother or his brother or anyone else he wants among the Muslims, because the reward is great. If charity is given sincerely for the sake of Allah the Almighty and from wealth that is acquired in a halaal manner, then the reward will be multiplied greatly, as Allah says:

{مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنبُلَةٍ مِّائَةُ حَبَّةٍ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَن يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ} [البقرة: 261]

Interpretation of the Verses: “The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allaah gives manifold increase to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower”[al-Baqarah:261].

And the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) used to slaughter a single sheep on behalf of himself and the members of his household.

(Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen:18/249).

There are many simple and profitable ways in the same time to pay a charity on behalf of others. For example, buy a bottle of water, food or clothes and give them to anyone while devoting your intention that it is on behalf of your family and any Muslim you want. Furthermore, you can get some Masahef and devote your intention that the money you paid is on behalf of your family or any Muslim you want. Give these Mashaef for those who recite the Holy Quran and everyone you included in your intention will have the reward of reciting the Holy Quran. It is important to understand and recognize that the reward of reciting the Holy Quran is a consequence of paying the charity to get Mushaf. The reason for that there is no evidence that reciting the Quran on behalf of others will be accepted, however, the reward will be obtained from paying the charity to buy a Mushaf.  

Du’aa’ and Istkfar

The simplest deed to help our family is to make Du’aa’ for them and ask Allah the Almighty to forgive them and to bless them in this life and Lifeafter. It was narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said:

إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَتُرْفَعُ دَرَجَتُهُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَيَقُولُ أَنَّى هَذَا فَيُقَالُ بِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَلَدِكَ لَكَ

Interpretation of Hadith shows that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "A man will be raised in status in Paradise and will say: 'Where did this come from?' And it will be said: From your son's praying for forgiveness for you.'" [Ibn Majah]. This Hadith encourages us to continuously make Du’aa’ everytime for our parents.  

Generally, you can make Du’aa’  for  your family members and any Muslim in his absence to make Du’aa’ be accepted. Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said:

دعوةُ المسلمِ لأخيه ، بظهرِ الغيبِ ، مُستجابةٌ . عند رأسِه ملَكٌ مُوكَّلٌ . كلما دعا لأخيه بخيرٍ ، قال الملَكُ الموكلُ به : آمين . ولكَ بمِثل

Interpretation of Hadith shows that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "The supplication of a Muslim for his (Muslim) brother in his absence will certainly be answered. Every time he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the Angel appointed for this particular task says: 'A meen! May it be for you, too” (Muslim). This Hadith visualizes the important of making Du’aa’ for other Muslims and most importantly our family and everyone among our relatives. We have to take full advantage of this great resource for mercy and activate this act every day to gain the blessings from Allah the Almighty and to ask Allah the Almighty to shower our family with mercy.

Hajj and Umra

It is acceptable to perform Hajj and Umra on behalf of other Muslims, based on the following Hadith. It was narrated  by Abdu-Allah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) told a man:

حُجَّ عَنْ نَفْسِكَ ثُمَّ حُجَّ عَنْ شُبْرُمَةَ ‏

Interpretation of Hadith shows that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “Perform hajj on your own behalf, then perform it on behalf of Shubrumah” (Abu-Dawood).  Consequently, there are certain set of rules that we have to follow to perform Hajj on behalf of others based on the following Fatawa:

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: “My mother died when I was young, and she hired a trustworthy person to perform Hajj on her behalf. My father has also died, and I heard from some of my relatives that he performed Hajj.  Is it permissible to hire someone to perform Hajj on behalf of my mother, or must I perform Hajj on her behalf myself? Also, should I perform Hajj on behalf of my father when I heard that he had performed Hajj?”  He replied: If you perform Hajj on their behalf yourself, and strive hard to complete Hajj in the manner prescribed in Islam, that is preferable. But if you hire a person who is religiously committed and trustworthy to perform Hajj on their behalf, there is nothing wrong with that. The best is for you to perform Hajj and ‘Umrah on their behalf. You may also hire someone to perform Hajj and ‘Umrah on their behalf. This is part of your honouring them and treating them kindly. May Allah accept (good deeds) from us and from you. End quote from (Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn Baaz: 16/408).

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: “Is it permissible for a Muslim who has performed the obligatory Hajj to perform Hajj on behalf of one of his relatives in China, because he is not able to travel in order to perform the obligatory Hajj? “

They replied: It is permissible for the Muslim who has performed the obligatory Hajj on his own behalf to perform Hajj on behalf of someone else, if the other person is not able to perform Hajj himself because he is elderly, or sick with an illness from which there is no hope of recovery, or because he has died, because of the saheeh hadeeths that speak of that. But if the person on whose behalf he wants to perform Hajj is not able to perform Hajj because of some temporary reason which it is hoped will pass, such as illness from which there is the hope that he will recover, or because of the political situation, or if the route is not safe and so on, then it is not acceptable to perform Hajj on his behalf. End quote from (Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 11/51).

Dear brother, kindly communicate these information with others, share the value with Muslims via social media, via interacting with Muslims to encourage them, print this document and spread it with your friends, neighbors and relatives. Struggle to save Muslims from Hellfire and Allah the Almighty will save you from Hellfire as well. We ask Allah the Almighty to save ourselves, our family and all Muslims from Hellfire