the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when news of the death of Jaʿfar ibn Abī Tālib reached him:

“Prepare food for Jaʿfar’s family, for something has befallen them that keeps them occupied.”

As for ongoing Quran recitation at graves, this was not known among the early generations.

Scholars have differed over reciting the Quran at a grave. Abū Hanīfa, Mālik, and Ahmad—in most reports from him—disapproved of it. In a later report, however, Ahmad permitted it after learning that ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar had instructed that the opening and closing verses of al-Baqara be recited at his burial. It has also been reported that one of the Ansār instructed that al-Baqara be recited at his grave. This, however, was only at the time of burial; nothing of this kind has been transmitted from them concerning recitation afterward. Thus, a third view distinguishes between recitation at the time of burial and regular recitation afterward, for the latter is a religious innovation with no known basis.

Anyone who says that the deceased benefits from hearing the Quran and is rewarded for it is mistaken, for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When a son of Adam dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge from which others benefit, or a righteous child who supplicates for him.”

After death, therefore, the deceased receives no reward for listening or for anything else. Even if the deceased hears the sound of their sandals, hears the greeting of someone who greets him, and hears other things, he no longer has any deeds apart from those excepted.