Fixing a Date and Day for Isal al-Thawab

Question

Fixing and precisely determining a date, day, time and month for isal al-thawab (conveying reward to the deceased) has been declared makruh and prohibited, yet no explicit (sarih) hadith has been cited as proof. In “Tafsir Kabir”, “Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur” and other books this hadith is quoted: that the Most Sacred Prophet ﷺ used to go to the graves of the martyrs every year, on the first day [of the year], and make du‘a for them.

Answer

The fixing and particularising of a thing that is transmitted from the Lawgiver is not denied, to the degree in which it is transmitted; but for a thing of which no such transmission exists — such as the third-day memorial gathering, the fortieth-day memorial rite and the like — fixing and particularising it on one’s own is a prohibited bid‘a, interference in religion and…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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