My father passed away some time ago and my brother, who commits some sinful acts, gives charity on his behalf. Is this charity accepted from him on behalf of my father?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhiwasallam, is His slave and messenger.

First of all, your brother has to repent to Allaah The Almighty and give up those sins which he commits, regretting their commission and intending not to return to them again; thus his repentance would be complete. Giving charity on behalf of his deceased father is recommended and shall be accepted,Allaah Willing. As long as a Muslim believes in the Oneness of Allaah The Almighty and performs the obligatory prayers, his charity is accepted. It is polytheism that renders charity unacceptable. Commenting on the Quranic verse that reads (what means): {Indeed, Allaah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him]} [Quran 5:27], Al-Qurtubi mentions in his Tafseer of this verse that Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "What is meant by righteousness in the verse is distance from polytheism, as unanimously agreed by Ahl As-Sunnah. Whoever fears Allaah and believes in Him alone, then the actions he does with sincere intentions shall be accepted. Yet, he who guards against polytheism and sins shall have the highest degree of acceptance and mercy."

Allaah Knows best.