Q 1: How can I make Du'a (supplicate to Allah) for the dead? What should I do to help them be rewarded from Allah (Exalted be He)? Is it permissible to prepare food and gather people to make du'a for them?

A: It is legally enacted that during the Funeral Prayer a Muslim should say Takbir (Saying: "Allah is the Greatest") four times, recite Surat Al-Fatihah (The Opening Chapter) after the first Takbir, invokes Allah's peace and blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) after the second Takbir, pray for the deceased in the best forms of du'a possible after the third Takbir. This is based on the Hadith narrated by Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy, and Al-Nasa'y in the Sunan on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said, When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed over a dead person, he said, "Allahumma ighfir lihayina wa-mayyitena, wa-saghirina wa-kabirina, wa-dhakarina wa-unthana, wa-shahidina wa-gha’ibina, Allahumma man ahyaitahu minna fa-ahyihi ‘alal-Islam , wa-man tawafaytahu minna fa-tawfahu ‘alal-Iman, Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa-la tudillana ba’dah" (O Allah, forgive those of us who are living and those of us who are dead; our young and our old; our male and our female, those of us who are present and those of us who are absent. O Allah, to whomsoever of us You give life, grant him life as a believer; and whomsoever of us You take in death, take him in death as a believer. O Allah, do not withhold from us the reward (of faith) and do not lead us astray after his death.) After the fourth Takbir, a person should say Taslim (salutation of peace ending the Prayer) on the right side only. It has been authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, If a company of Muslims numbering one hundred pray over a dead person, all of them interceding for him, their intercession for him will be accepted. (Part No. 8; Page No. 377) It is recorded in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, If any Muslim dies and forty men perform the funeral prayer seeking Allah's forgiveness for him, Allah will accept them as intercessors for him. It is permissible to make du'a for the dead whether in Salah or at any other time as this will benefit them.On the other hand, it is not permissible for people to gather to make du'a for the deceased and it is also impermissible for the bereaved family to prepare food for people for this is not an act of Sunnah, it is rather a detestable act. It has been reported that Jarir ibn `Abdullah said: We (the Prophet's Companions) considered gathering for visiting the deceased's family, and preparing food after burying them, as acts of wailing. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.