Q: My question is regarding khatams and niaz etc in the name of the Prophet Salallahu-Alaihi-Wasalam and saints like Hazrath Ghous Paak etc – Is this practise Islamically correct or is it considered bidaah?
A: These are baseless customs. To make a khatam of the Qur’aan is a duty of the Qur’aan. It is not a show that people should gather, eat and recite some Qur’aan and then leave. Every individual has a duty to do the recitation and completion of the Qur’aan. This is best done if some time of the day or night is dedicated to the recitation of the Qur’aan. The evil of this is that the Qur’aan will only be read at a khatam function. Hence, if a khatam function is held once or twice in a year you will only get a chance to read the Qur’aan once or twice in the year and that too you will also recite the amount that you have decided to read. So when is he going to complete the khatam of the Qur’aan. Is not this destroying the right of the Quraan?
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)