Question:
What is the ruling on slaughtering sacrificial animals and bringing them to the family of the deceased? Does this fall under the saying of the Messenger ﷺ: “Prepare food for the family of Ja’far,” especially since people do this in a rotating schedule among themselves for lunch and dinner?
Answer:
This does not fall under the Hadith of Ja’far for two reasons:
The First Reason: The Prophet ﷺ said: “Prepare food for the family of Ja’far, for something has come to them that keeps them occupied.” He provided the reason: they were occupied by what befell them. Today, most people—praise be to Allah—are not occupied by grief to that extent, because restaurants exist and the youngest child can simply go and bring whatever is desired, so there is no such preoccupation.
The Second Reason: The Messenger ﷺ did not gather at the home of Ja’far, nor did his relatives gather around them, nor did his companions. Rather, it was simply food prepared for them—lunch or dinner depending on the circumstances—when something occurred that occupied them.
However, Satan uses similar-sounding things in the Sharia as a stepping stone for ‘Ahl al-Bid’a’ (the people of innovation), just as he used the verse: “There is nothing like unto Him” [Ash-Shura: 11] as a stepping stone for those who deny Allah’s attributes, denying them under the pretext that affirming them would make Allah resemble His creation.
Similarly, these people use this Hadith as evidence, when there is no proof in it for them; in fact, it is evidence against them.
Did the Messenger ﷺ gather at their house, even though Ja’far ibn Abi Talib was his paternal cousin? Did any of their relatives gather around them? Absolutely not!
Rather, Jarir ibn Abdullah Al-Bajali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We used to consider gathering at the home of the deceased and preparing food to be a form of Niyahah (wailing).”
Wailing causes the deceased to be tormented in their grave, as the Prophet ﷺ stated: “Indeed, the deceased is tormented by the wailing over them.”
Due to the lack of reminding the general public about this, they have come to think there is no harm in it. Yet, if you were to say to anyone: “Your father, brother, mother, or uncle—whom you loved—is being tormented because of what you did,” I do not believe anyone would ever dare to do such a thing.
Furthermore, these practices have turned into something resembling a wedding feast. In some countries, when you pass by a house of mourning, you find numerous lights, chairs, and large tents, with people entering and leaving as if it were a wedding banquet—Allah forbid. Some contemporary scholars, may Allah grant them success, have stated that the origin of this practice is taken from the Christians. They are the ones who do such things so that a person might forget the calamity through worldly distractions, rather than through lawful condolence.
Lawful condolence consists of admonishing the person and saying what the Messenger ﷺ said: “Indeed, to Allah belongs what He took and to Allah belongs what He gave, and everything with Him has an appointed time. So be patient and seek reward,” rather than setting up this commotion and these large tents.
Therefore, I believe that scholars and students of knowledge bear a great responsibility regarding this matter, and efforts must be dedicated to eradicating this bid’ah (innovation).