their friend, carrying out their bequest, and keeping up the ties of kinship that you have only through them. All of these are forms of dutifulness toward one’s parents.

The same applies to giving charity on their behalf, for charity benefits one’s father and mother. Likewise, honouring their friend—exactly as in the aforementioned report from Ibn ʿUmar: if your parent had a friend, treat him graciously, for that is part of your devotion to them.

The fifth item is maintaining the kinship bonds that link you to others solely through your parents—that is, keeping relations with their relatives—for this, too, is part of honouring them.

As for reciting the Quran for them, or performing two units of prayer and then saying, “This is for my parents,” the Prophet ﷺ neither commanded nor recommended it. Rather, he said, “When a human being dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: a continual charity, knowledge from which people benefit, or a righteous child who prays for him.” He did not say “who gives charity for him, or prays on his behalf, or performs Hajj or ʿumrah for him,” but specifically “who prays for him.” Thus, supplication is better for one’s parents than gifting them the reward of personal acts of worship.

Nevertheless, if a person performs a good deed and intends its reward for his parents, there is no harm in that, for the Messenger ﷺ did not forbid Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah from giving charity on behalf of his mother; on the contrary, he gave him permission. Nor did he stop the man who said, “Messenger of Allah, my mother passed away suddenly, and had she been able to speak she would have given charity.”

These, then, are five acts of filial devotion toward one’s parents after their death.