among the followers of Abū Hanīfa, Imam Ahmad, and others. This is also one of the two reports from Ahmad. We know of no explicit statement from al-Shāfiʿī concerning any of this.

No scholar has said that reciting the Quran beside a grave is better. Whoever claims that the deceased benefits from hearing it when it is recited beside his grave, but not when the reciter is farther away, advances an invalid innovation contrary to scholarly consensus.

By the agreement of the Muslims, the deceased does not benefit after death from acts he himself performs thereafter—whether listening, reciting, or anything else; such acts are of no avail. Rather, he benefits from the continuing effects of what he did during his lifetime, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When the son of Adam dies, his deeds cease except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge from which benefit is derived, or a righteous child who prays for him.”

He also benefits from the reward dedicated to him from financial acts of worship, such as charity and gifts, by agreement of the jurists. The same applies to physical acts of worship, according to the sounder of their two opinions. Requiring Muslims to perform deeds or give charity only in a designated place, such as Christian churches, is invalid.

In any event, appointing a substitute to perform such stipulated duties is permissible. As for their being performed on behalf of the endowment’s founder, if the substitute is comparable to the person appointing him, there may be harm in this that outweighs the religious benefit, as with duties stipulated in a contract for work owed as an obligation, because