Hiring a person to offer prayers
1542. After the death of a person, another person can be engaged to offer, on payment of wages, those prayers and other acts of worship which the dead person did not offer during his lifetime. And it is also in order if a person offers the services without taking payment for it.
1543. A person can accept engagement to offer some Mustahab acts like Ziyarat of Shrine of Prophet (peace be upon Him) and Imams (peace be upon Them), on behalf of the living persons. Also he can perform some Mustahab acts, and dedicate their Thawab (reward) to living or dead persons.
1544. A person who is hired to offer the Qadha prayers of a dead person, should be a Mujtahid, or should know the rules of the prayers correctly according to Taqlid, or should act according to precaution.
1545. At the time for making Niyyat, the hired person must specify the dead person, but it is not necessary that he should know his/her name. Hence, it is enough if he intends: “I am offering prayers for the person on whose behalf I am hired”.
1546. The hired person should act with the Niyyat that he is acting to discharge the obligation of the dead person. It will not be enough if he performs and dedicates its Thawab to the dead person.
1547. One who hires a person, should be satisfied that the hired person will perform the act correctly, for which he is hired.
1548. If it transpires that the person hired for offering prayers for a dead person has not performed it, or has performed incorrectly, another person should be hired for the purpose.
1549. If a person doubts whether or not the hired person has performed the act, he must hire another person. It is sufficient if the hired person assures that he has performed the act, and it is not necessary to hire another person. But if he doubts
whether or not the hired person has performed it correctly, he should presume that it has been correct.
1550. A person who has some excuse, for example, if he offers prayers with Tayammum or in a sitting position, should not be hired for offering prayers for a dead person, even if the prayers of the dead person may have become Qadha that way.
1551. A man can be hired on behalf of a woman, and a woman can be hired on behalf of a man, and in the matter of offering prayers loudly or silently, the hired person should act according to his/her own obligation.
1552. Observing order is not obligatory for the Qadha prayers of a dead person, except in the case of prayers whose performance is prescribed in an order, like, Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers of one day.
1553. If it is agreed with the hired person that he will accomplish it in a particular manner, the hired person should follow the agreement. If nothing has been agreed, then he can perform according to his own obligation.
And as per recommended precaution, between his own obligation and that of the dead person, he should choose that which is nearer to precaution – for example if the obligation of the dead person was to say Tasbihat Arba’ah three times, and his own obligation is to say it once, he should recite three times.
1554. If it is not agreed with the hired person how many Mustahab acts he will perform, he should perform as much as is usual.
1555. If a person engages several people for offering the Qadha prayers of a dead person, it is necessary, that he should fix a time for each one of them. However, if he wants to act as per precaution, and wants to maintain the sequential order, he should fix a time for each one of them, like, with one of them he made an agreement that he will offer the Qadha prayers from morning till Zuhr and with other one he made an agreement that he will offer the Qadha prayers from Zuhr till night, moreover, he also fixes that which Namaz will be offered first, like, the hired person will first offer the Fajr prayers or Zuhr prayers or ‘Asr prayers, and he can also make an agreement that every time they offer the Qadha prayer, they should offer for the one whole day, and if they will not complete a one day Namaz in one sitting, it will not be counted, and next time they will have to offer that prayer from the beginning.
1556. If a hired person agrees to offer the prayers of a dead person within one year, but he dies before the year ends, another person should be hired to offer the
uncompleted prayers. And for the prayers, one feels that the hired person probably did not offer, as per obligatory precaution, another person should be hired.
1557. If a person hired for offering the prayers of a dead person, dies before offering all the prayers, and if he had taken wages for all the prayers, if the hirer has placed a condition that he would offer all the prayers himself, if the hired person had the strength to offer it all, the agreement is in order. And the hirer can take back the proportionate amount of wages for the remaining prayers or he can cancel the contract and pay an adequate sum for the Namaz, the hired person offered, and can take back the remaining amount.
And if the hired person was not strong enough, the agreement will become void after the death of the hired person, and can take back all the amount which was given to him to offer the prayers, or the person who hired can cancel the agreement and can pay the proportionate amount for the prayers offered and can take back the remaining.
And if it was not agreed that the hired person would offer all the prayers himself, then the heirs of the deceased should pay from his estate, and engage another person to complete the task. And if there is nothing in the estate, it is not obligatory upon the heirs.
1558. If the hired person dies before offering all the Qadha prayers of the dead, and if he himself had some Qadha of his own, as mentioned in the previous ruling, someone should be hired to offer the remaining prayers from his estate, if there is any residue from his estate after hiring to offer the remaining prayers from his estate, someone should be hired to perform all his (deceased hired) Qadha if he has willed, and his heirs give permission, for the money to be spent upon his Qadha prayers, above the one – third of his estate. And if the heirs do not permit for more, then only one – third (Thulth,ثلث) of his estate should be spent for the Qadha prayers.