1541. After one’s death, a person may be hired to offer the prayers or other acts of worship that the deceased did not offer during his lifetime. That is to say, one may establish a wage for the hired person for him to offer the missed acts of worship. If a person offers them without taking a wage, it will be valid.
1542. A person may also be hired to offer certain recommended acts of worship on behalf of a living person, such as the ziyÁrat of the Prophet’s grave, or that of the Imams (Peace be upon them all). In such an event, his being hired would pertain to him offering that act on behalf of that person. He may also offer these acts free of charge, just as he may also offer any obligatory or recommeded prayer and dedicate its reward to persons who are alive or have passed away.
1543. A person who has been hired to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a deceased should either be a mujtahid with regards to the precepts of prayer, or he should perform it by means of doing the correct taqlÐd of a mujtahid, or act in accordance with precaution.
1544. A hired person should specify the deceased when making his intention to offer his qaÃÁ prayers. However, it is not necessary for him to know his name. If for example, he makes the intention to offer prayer on behalf of the person whom he has been hired to offer prayer for, it will suffice.
1545. The hired person should offer the act of worship with the intention of what the deseased had been charged with as his obligation. It will not suffice if he offers it and dedicates its reward to the deceased.
1546. One should hire a person whom he knows will perform the act of worship, or has canonically authoritative evidence that he will do so. Such evidence may include one’s confidence (in him), or the testimony of two just persons, or that of one trustwrothy person for whom no conjectural evidence exists contrary to his testimony.
1547. If it transpires that the person hired to offer the qaÃÁ prayers for a deceased did not perform them, or he performed them incorrectly, another person should be hired to perform them.
1548. If a person doubts whether the hired person has performed the act he was hired to perform or not, then if the hired person is a reliable person and testifies that he has performed it, or two just persons testify, or one trustworthy person testifies and there is no conjectural evidence contrary to his testimony, it will suffice. If he doubts whether he performed the act correctly or not, he should assume he has done so correctly.
1549. A person who is exempt owing to a justified excuse—for example he offers his prayer sitting or with tayammum—cannot be hired to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a deceased, even if the qaÃÁ prayers of the deceased were rendered qaÃÁ in the same manner.
1550. A man may be hired to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a woman and vice versa. The hired person should act according to his or her own obligation in reciting the prayer aloud or in a low voice.
1551. It is not necessary to observe the sequential order while offering the qaÃÁ prayer of a deceased, though recommended precaution dictates that one should observe it, except in prayers whose adÁ form has a sequential order. An example of this is the Ûuhr and ‘aÒr prayers, or the maghrib and ‘ishÁÞ prayers of a same day.
1552. If a person stipulates a condition with the hired person in respect to performing the act in a particular manner, the latter should execute it in the manner agreed upon, unless he is certain of its invalidity, in which case it is impermissible for him to be hired for it. However, if there is no condition stipulated, he should act according to his own obligation. Recommended precaution dictates that between his own duty and that of the deceased, he should act according to that which is more precautionary. For example, if obligation of the deceased is to recite tasbÐÎÁt al-arba‘ah three times, and his obligation is to recite it once, he should recite it three times.
1553. If a person does not stipulate a condition with respect to the number of recommended components the hired person should perform in the prayer, he should perform the recommended components that are commonly performed.
1554. If a person hires a number of people to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a deceased, based on what was elaborated on in article 1551, it is not necessary to specify a particular time for each one of them.
1555. If a person is hired, for example, to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a deceased within a period of one year, and he dies before the year comes to an end, another person should be hired for the qaÃÁ prayers that one is certain were not offerred by him. Obligatory precaution dictates that other person should also be hired for the number of prayers that one entertains a possibility that they were not offerred by him.
1556. If one hires a person to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a deceased, and prior to completing the qaÃÁ prayers, he passes away, while having taken the complete wages for all the prayers, then:
If they had stipulated a condition that the hired person perform all the prayers himself, and he was capable of doing so, the contract to hire him will be valid. In this case, the one who hired him can reclaim the common wage for similar works for the remaining prayers. He may also choose to cancel the contract, subtract the common wage for similar works for the prayers that were offerred, and reclaim the remaining amount.
However, if he was not capable of doinig so, the contract would be invalid in relation to the time of the deseased’s death onwards. In this case, the hirer may reclaim the remaining specified (paid) wage, or cancel the contract in relation to the time before the deseased’s death (backwards) and pay the common wage of such works for the offered prayers.
But, if they had not stipulated a condition that the hired person should perform all the prayers himself, the heirs of that hired person must hire somebody, by his estate, to offer the remaining prayers. However, if he had left no property, nothing is obligatory on his heirs.
1557. If a person who is hired to offer the qaÃÁ prayers of a deceased dies prior to compliting performance of those prayers and while he himself had his own qaÃÁ prayers to offer, after carrying out the instructions elaborated in the previous article, if there is a surplus remaining from his property, and he has made a will, and the wage for his qaÃÁ prayers is greater than one third of his estate, and his heirs grant permission for it, one should hire a person to complete all of his qaÃÁ prayers. However, if they do not grant permission, one third of his property should be used to complete his qaÃÁ prayers.
