ADAM'S SON

 

One of the most influential hadiths in the belief of Muslims; The hadith of Muslim as Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased)[i]."

Based on this hadith, Muslims perform some of the most important actions that we see here and there, among relatives, in the media, and even transmitted by sheikhs and clerks, far and near.

Despite what the hadith carries of valuable meanings and good qualities for each of the action, the subject and the object; However, Muslims did not realize that it has more than one meaning, of which the closest to them goes against what they think, they stick to the far meaning, which cannot be achieved if we project this meaning to Qur’an.

 

The prevalent among them is that if a person dies, his deeds will remain, adding to his good deeds recorded in his Book, on which he will be held accountable in the hereafter. A common example is when we find someone traveling for Umrah or Hajj with the intention of making it for his father or son, as if he is donating the good deed of this ritual for the deceased.

 

This meaning contradicts what is stated in the texts of Qur’an in whole and in detail, whereas, if a person dies, his work ends.

That is, his good and bad deeds have been recorded and his Book is closed until it is opened on the day of reckoning, as evident in Surah Al-Isra, there is evidence for this statement

“And on the Day of Judgment We will bring forth to each ˹person˺ a record which they will find laid open. And it will be said, ˺ “Read your record. You ˹alone˺ are sufficient this Day to take account of yourself.[ii]”

And in Surah Al-Infitar

"While you are certainly observed by vigilant. Honourable angels, recording ˹everything˺. They know whatever you do.[iii]"

And in Surah Qaf:

 “Not a word does a person utter without having a ˹vigilant˺ observer ready ˹to write it down˺.[iv]”

That is, every action by the son of Adam, said or done in this world, is recorded until his death, and nothing is added to it after that until this Book is opened on the Day of Resurrection for his account.

The meaning of the hadith is that if a person left knowledge or charity, it will certainly remain until God willing, but God will not reward him after his death, nor will he write good deeds for him just because he left a lasting trace in the world. His work has been completed and his page has been folded. Rather, people will remember him whenever they pass by or seek his charity or knowledge.

And his son will continue to pray mercy for him if he is righteous, and this is also normal, whether Abu Huraira said it or not. A person’s supplication for a dead person for mercy or forgiveness does not necessarily mean that God will have mercy or forgive him, as everything is subject to God’s mercy and will.

 

Even this person who prays for his father for mercy in this world, will be busy with himself on the Day of Resurrection, praying for God's mercy only for himself

In Surah Abasa,

“On that Day every person will flee from their own siblings, and ˹even˺ their mother and father, and ˹even˺ their spouse and children. For then everyone will have enough concern of their own.[v]”

And in Surah al-Shu'ara:

“The Day when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit. Only those who come before Allah with a pure heart ˹will be saved.[vi]”

And in Surah Al-Mu'minun:

“Then, when the Trumpet will be blown,1 there will be no kinship between them on that Day, nor will they ˹even care to˺ ask about one another.[vii]”

Every human being on the Day of Resurrection has his own special affair, and he will not look or turn to others, even if it is his son, father or mother, praying for God's mercy on himself.

The hadith is thus understood based on the explicit and unambiguous texts of the Holy Qur’an. It has no meaning other than what we have found.

Praying for mercy for the dead will not intercede for them if they are among the owners of the Fire, nor will it record them good deeds just because of the ice-cold water tap located at the doors of a mosque. One will not enter Paradise because of a milking cow, which he had left producing milk and then cut off or died, nor will he benefit from the knowledge of he left whether used or even neglected. All his actions have been recorded and ended up irreversibly.

And all the scenes of praying for mercy for the dead on the social media pages are nothing but absurdity and a form of the state of disillusionment in which we live. It should be sufficient for a person to pray in his secret if he is obliged to do so. As for the diarrhea in the advertisements of the supplications of mercy on the platforms, it really raises eyebrows and calls for contemplation in the case of these people and may be try to discover the psychological diseases they suffer from.

But how can we make those who understand, actually understand?

And where is the way to reveal the confusion surrounding most of what they think?

In the end, I can only say: “oh God. Will You not destroy us for what the fools amongst us did?”