Are the Elders Who Have Departed This World Alive or Dead?

Question

(1) The elders who have passed away from this world — are they alive or dead? What belief should we hold about them — the belief that they are alive or that they are dead? Charity at the Shrines of the Awliya’ (2) Is it permissible to give charity at the shrine of the friends of Allah — as, for example, the poor are fed at the shrine of Hazrat Sabir ﵀ — giving charity for the sake of Allah, whether of money or of food? Meeting the Elders After Their Death (3)

Answer

(1) The soul separates from the body, but it does not die; it has some other abode. Here, the rulings of the living are not applied to [the deceased]: for example, he is washed, shrouded in the kafan, the funeral prayer is performed over him and he is buried — this is not done with a living person; the widow, after completing the ‘idda, contracts another marriage; the estate…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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