Does seeking forgiveness for the deceased benefit them through the ذكرed formulations, such as: "Astaghfirullah Alladhi La Ilaha Illa Huwa Al-Hayy Al-Qayyum wa Atubu Ilayh" (I seek forgiveness from Allah, other than whom there is no god, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, and to Him I repent) three times, or reciting Sayyid al-Istighfar, or the concluding verses of Surat Al-Hashr, or Ayat Al-Kursi, or "Subhan Allah Al-Azim Adada Khalqihi wa Rida Nafsihi wa Midada Kalimatihi" (Glory be to Allah, the Almighty, as many times as the number of His creation, as much as pleases Him, and as much as the ink of His words) for them?

The preponderant view is that any act of worship whose reward is designated for the deceased reaches them and benefits them, whether these are physical or financial acts of worship. So, if one remembers Allah (dhikr), seeks forgiveness (istighfar), recites the Qur’an, or prays, and dedicates the reward thereof to the deceased, it will benefit them by the will of Allah. Sheikh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyyah) stated that the deceased benefits from all physical and financial acts of worship. Nevertheless, it is more appropriate for a servant to keep the reward of their acts of worship for themselves and to frequently supplicate for their deceased and seek forgiveness for them. This is what was known of the Salaf (pious predecessors), whose custom was not to dedicate the reward of voluntary acts of worship to the deceased Muslims.