Investigating the spiritual rights of the dead with emphasis on the judgment of the dead's right over the penalty for the false accusation of fornication in Shiite Jurisprudence

Belief in the individuality of personality-related rights makes the right of enjoyment personal and the transfer of that right impossible. However, revering the sanctity of the dead is so significant in Islamic Jurisprudence that many spiritual rights, including the right of the penalty for the false accusation of fornication are, in proportionate to its relationship with one's personality, transferable, whether the person in question is alive or dead, and would be inherited to his/her heirs. Therefore, this study sought to investigate posthumous spiritual rights, with emphasis on the dead's right over the penalty for false accusation of fornication. The punishment for the dead's false accusation of fornication is proven through the Four Proofs and the general arguments concerning the reverence of one's sanctity, and should its relevant conditions be met, its penalty, i.e., eighty lashes, would be executed. According to Shiite Jurisprudence, the death of a person would not deprive him/her of their spiritual rights, and in some cases, the judgment for disrespecting such rights of the dead would be the same as that of the person who is alive, and sometimes even more severe. Moreover, the views of those jurists who argue that men's dignity would not be destroyed by death and that the dead could still enjoy some spiritual rights are also confirmed.