The practice of holding funeral ceremonies and pavilions as well as hiring reciters of the Qur'an

Q 2: In our country, there is a widely-spread practice that a funeral ceremony is held when someone dies. (Part No. 7; Page No. 422) The family of the dead person stand in the funeral pavilion to receive the people who come to give them solace. What is the ruling on such a practice? Also, what is the formula of condolences prescribed in the Sunnah? What is the ruling on hiring reciters to recite the Qur'an in such a pavilion? Is such a recitation of the Qur'an useful for the dead person? What is the ruling on the fees the reciter of the Qur'an gets from the dead person's family?

A 2: The practice of holding funeral ceremonies and pavilions as well as hiring reciters of the Qur'an when someone dies is a forbidden Bid`ah (innovation in religion). As for the prescribed formula of condolence, the consoler can say to the relatives of the dead person: "May Allah grant you solace, relieve your affliction and forgive your dead person," without holding funeral pavilions or spending money for no reason. It was authentically reported that Jarir ibn `Abdullah Al-Bajaly (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We used to regard meeting with the dead person's family as a practice of forbidden mourning." (Related by Imam Ahmad through authentic Isnad (chain of narrators))May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions !