Q: Mufti saheb, can you please explain to me the shar’ee ruling regarding making du‘aa after the janaazah salaah? In certain places, after the janaazah salaah is performed, I see people raise their hands and engage in collective du‘aa for the deceased. Is this practice established in the Hadith? Some people try to prove the practice of collective du‘aa after the janaazah salaah through the following Hadith. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said,

إذا صليتم على الميت فأخلصوا له الدعاء (سنن أبي داود رقم 3199)

“When you perform janaazah salaah upon any deceased, then sincerely make dua for him.”

Does this Hadith refer to making du‘aa for the deceased after janaazah salaah or does it refer to making du‘aa for the deceased in the janaazah salaah?

A: Janaazah salaah, in reality, is a du‘aa for the deceased. Thus, there is no need for an additional du‘aa after the janaazah salaah. The practice of making an additional du‘aa after the janaazah salaah is not established from any Hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), nor is it proven from the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum). Hence, when this practice is not established from Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu anhum), this practice will be deemed as an innovation in Deen and must be omitted.