Is it appropriate to eat food in the house of a dead person? If it is wrong and if there are any drawbacks, what are they?
Are there any decrees in hadiths or other places regarding the issue?
Dear Brother / Sister,
It is mustahab for the relatives and neighbors of the dead person to cook and send food to the house of the dead person. For, according to a narration,
"When Jafar b. Ebu Talib was killed, the Prophet (pbuh) said,
‘Cook food and take it to the family of Jafar. For, a misfortune that will keep them busy hit them." (Abu Dawud, Janaiz, 25-26)
The neighbors send the dishes that they cook to the family of the dead person in order to help them and win their hearts. For, the family of the dead person might not have cooked anything due to being busy with the misfortune and the people who come to visit them.
Otherwise, it is makruh and bid’ah for the family of the dead person to prepare food for the people who visit them. For, the problem and sorrow of the family will increase when they do so. Their tasks will increase and it will resemble the habits of the Era of Jahiliyya. It is even haram to prepare food and serve it to the guests in a house where there are children who have not reached the age of puberty yet among the inheritors of the dead person.
Jarir b. Abdullah stated the following:
"If it is necessary to prepare food, it is permissible. For, people from distant places and villages might come to the house of the dead person for janazah and condolences; if they stay there overnight, it is permissible to cook food and serve it to them."
(see Prof. Dr. Wahba Zuhayli, İslam Fıkhı Ansiklopedisi)
Questions on Islam
- Will you give information about neighborhood and neighbors in Islam?
- Jafar bin Abi Talib (r.a.)
- Asma bint Umays (r.anha)
- It is stated in a verse that visitors should not go to the Prophet’s house. How can it be explained?
- What are our duties toward our neighbors?
- What can be done as charity, prayer and favor for a dead person? What supplications and chapters along with the chapter of Yasin should be read to decrease a dead person’s penalty in the grave?
- What can be done as charity, prayer and favor for a dead person? What supplications and chapters along with the chapter of Yasin should be read to decrease a dead person’s penalty in the grave?
- How should a child be trained and religiously educated? How should we teach Allah to children?
- Will you give information about the role of women in business life in the Era of Bliss?
- Who is the Companion known as "the Translator of the Quran"?
