Food After the Khatm

Question

Many people gather women and men, give each person one juz’ of the Holy Qur’an to recite, or call the children of an orphanage to recite the Qur’an, and thereby convey the reward (isal al-thawab) to their deceased relatives. Is doing so not a sin? Is it a bid‘a (an innovation in religion) or not? Please also clarify: after the recitation, may the children be given food or not?

Answer

Reciting the Holy Qur’an and conveying its reward [to the deceased] is beneficial, and it is by no means a sin. But adopting for this purpose the form of assembling a gathering and feeding the reciters is not established [in the Sacred Law]: such food comes to the level of a wage for the recitation and the khatm (completion of the reading), which is forbidden by the Sacred Law.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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