Message from Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

In the name of the Almighty. May Allah shower His blessings upon Prophet Muhammad & his family.

Death is a reality which no one can deny. When we lose those near and dear to us, we deal with this separation in different ways. Islam tells us that when it comes to the living and the dead, the living can still do things to improve the spiritual status of the dead during the barzakh, the purgatory.

It is recommended to visit the graves of the family members since, in words of the Sixth Imam (a.s.), “they recognize you [when you visit them] and feel lonely when you leave them.” Bibi Fatima (a.s.) used to visit the graves of Hazrat Hamza in Uhud on a weekly basis. So to visit the graves of the marhumeen and reciting Surah al-Fatiha and Surah Qadr for them is a way of comforting them. However, you can also send them gifts of thawab by giving charity on their behalf to the poor and the needy.

In order to fulfill this tradition of our faith, it is important to know the graves of our family-members and, at the least, once in a while visit the graves to give them comfort on a spiritual level.

The endeavour by Br. Aunali Moledina to gather and update the names of the deceased who are buried in ISIJ’s cemetery in Toronto is commendable, and hopefully it will help the future generations in locating the graves of their familymembers, visiting them occasionally and reciting surahs for them at the grave. This is the least that one can do to fulfill the rights of the deceased.

Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

November 2011 / Dhul Hijjah 1432