Ruling on congregational du‘aa’ for the deceased and paying the imam for reciting the du‘aa’
Question

                In our state, people used to bring the imaam of the masjid and make him do a congregational dua for their relatives who are dead ( in front of the grave). I have five questions here ;

1) Do Allah accept prayer for the dead (near the grave) by anyone other than his righteous son? (As seen in a hadeeth) ..

2) Wont Allah accept the prayer of a righteous daughter? ..

3) Isn't this congregational dua a bid'ah? ..

4) Paying the imaam for praying to Allah seems to be so horrible. Isn't this wrong?.

5)My relative justified that imaams are paid so low here. So they who need extra money so as to maintain their family needs. Is this a right justification?
Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
Offering du‘aa’
for the deceased after the burial is prescribed in Islam and may be done by his
son and others, because of the hadeeth of ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) had finished burying a deceased person, he would stand
over him and say: “Pray for forgiveness for your brother, and ask that he be
made steadfast, for he is being questioned now.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood
(3221); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz,
p. 198
It is mustahabb
for every Muslim to attend the burial and offer du‘aa’
for the deceased.
Secondly:
The du‘aa’ of
a righteous daughter for her father is included in the words of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “When a man dies, all his good
deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity (sadaqah
jaariyah), beneficial knowledge, or a righteous
child who will pray for him.” Narrated by Muslim (1631) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
In Arabic, the word walad (translated here as
“child”; the plural is awlaad) includes both male and
female, as in the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says: “Allah
commands you as regards your children’s [awlaadikum]
(inheritance); to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” [an-Nisa’ 4:10].
Thirdly:
Congregational du‘aa’
after the burial, if it happens occasionally and does not become a regular
practice, or if one of them offers du‘aa’ and the
others say Ameen, is regarded as permissible by some
of the scholars.
But if they always do it this way every
time there is a funeral or they visit the deceased, or they single out a
specific time to gather, or they recite du‘aa’ in unison,
then this is a kind of bid‘ah and innovation.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on
him) was asked: I see some people standing at the grave after burial of the
deceased and offering du‘aa’ for him. Is this
permissible? And is there a prescribed du‘aa’ to be
said after completion of the burial? Is the du‘aa’ to
be offered in congregation, such as if one person says du‘aa’
and the others say Ameen to his du‘aa’?
Or should each person offer du‘aa’ on his own? Please
advise us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer: The Sunnah
that is proven from the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
indicates that it is prescribed to offer du‘aa’ for
the deceased after burial. When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) had finished burying a deceased person, he would stand over him and
say: “Pray for forgiveness for your brother, and ask that he be made steadfast,
for he is being questioned now.” There is nothing wrong with one person saying du‘aa’ and the others saying Ameen,
or each person offering du‘aa’ by himself for the
deceased. And Allah is the source of strength.
End quote from Fataawa
ash-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 13/204
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on
him) was also asked:
What is the ruling on offering
congregational du‘aa’ at graves?
He replied:
There is nothing wrong with it. If one
person says du‘aa’ and the others say Ameen, there is nothing wrong with that, so long as it is
not done deliberately and it just so happens that they hear one of them saying du‘aa’ and the others say Ameen.
In such cases it is not called “congregational” because it is not done
deliberately.
End quote from Fataawa
ash-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 13/340
Fourthly:
It is not prescribed to pay the imam for
offering du‘aa’ for the deceased, and it is not Sunnah to stand for a long time at the grave. What good can
result from the du‘aa’ of a man hired for that
purpose?!
See also the answer to question no. 83829
Fifthly:
Poor imams should be helped from zakaah and charity funds, and it is not permissible to
encourage them in innovations.
And Allah knows best.