The Sunan collections report:

“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would stand at the grave of one of his Companions after his burial and say: ‘Ask Allah to grant him steadfastness, for he is now being questioned.’”

It is also established in the two Sahih collections that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Prompt those among you who are dying to say: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.’”

Thus, prompting a dying person is a prescribed Sunnah. It is established that the person in the grave is questioned and tested, and that supplicating for him is enjoined. For this reason, it has been said that prompting benefits him, since the deceased hears when called. It is established in the Sahih that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“He hears the sound of their sandals.”

He also said:

“You do not hear what I say any better than they do.”

He instructed us to greet the dead, saying:

“No man passes the grave of a man whom he knew in this world and greets him without Allah restoring the deceased’s soul to him so that he may return the greeting.”

And Allah knows best.”

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

“Is prompting the deceased after his burial obligatory or not? Does the reward of recitation reach the deceased?”

He answered:

“Prompting him after his death is not obligatory, by scholarly consensus, nor was it part of