Can dead hear the living.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
What is the understanding of Quran and Sunnah "about
hearing of dead to our calls? Really, do they hear or just it is a myth?
Please reply. Also make analysis of hadees pertaining to
addressing of Prophet Muhammad (saw) to the dead non believers of Badr and
hearing of foot steps of people to the buried person after burial.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Can dead hear the
living
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Your Question: ….What is the understanding of Quran and
Sunnah "about hearing of dead to our calls? Really, do they hear or
just it is a myth?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah
Fatir verse 22:
22 Nor are alike those that are living and those that are dead. Allah
can make any that He wills to hear; but thou canst not make those to hear who
are (buried) in graves.
In light of the above absolutely clear Guidance and
Declaration of the Glorious Quran, it is evident that neither the living have
the power or the ability to make the dead hear them, nor do the dead by
themselves have the power or ability to hear those who are living!
Allah Subhanah Alone has the Power and the Ability to make
the dead hear whatever He Wills and Pleases for them to hear.
Your Question: …..Also make analysis of hadees pertaining to
addressing of Prophet Muhammad (saw) to the dead non believers of Badr and
hearing of foot steps of people to the buried person after burial.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.314 Narrated by Abu Talha
On the day of Badr, the Prophet (saws) ordered
that the corpses of twenty four of the disbelievers amongst the Quraish leaders
should be thrown into one of the dirty dry wells of Badr. It was a practice of
the Prophet (saws) that whenever he conquered some people, he used to stay at
the battle-field for three nights. So, on the third day of the battle of Badr,
he (saws) ordered that his she-camel be saddled, then he (saws) set out, and
his companions followed him saying among themselves." "Definitely he
(i.e. the Prophet (saws)) is proceeding for some great purpose." When he
halted at the edge of the well, he addressed the corpses of the Quraish infidels
by their names and their fathers' names, "O
so-and-so, son of so-and-so and O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would it have
pleased you if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger? We have found true what
our Lord promised us. Have you too found true what your Lord promised you” Hadrat 'Umar (r.a.) asked "O Allah's Messenger
(saws)! You are speaking to bodies that have no souls!" Allah's
Messenger (saws) replied "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's (saws) soul is,
you do not hear, what I say better than they do!" (Qatada (r.a.)
the noble companion of the Prophet (saws) (later) said, "Allah brought
them to life (again) to let them hear him, to reprimand them, and slight them,
and take revenge over them, and caused them to feel remorseful and
regretful.")
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.422 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
The Prophet (saws) said, "When a human
being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two Angels come to him and
make him sit and ask him: 'What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad
(saws)?' He will say: 'I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Messenger.' Then it will be said to him, 'Look at your
place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in
In light of the above quoted authentic narrations related
from the Messenger of Allah (saws), it is indeed true that the Messenger of
Allah (saws) addressed the deceased disbelievers after the battle of Badr….and
as the Lord Most Majestic would have Pleased and Wills, He made those deceased
disbelievers in their graves hear and feel remorse and regret at the discourse
of the Prophet (saws).
Similarly, when one is buried in their graves, it is Allah
Subhanah Who makes them hear the foot steps of their departing loved ones.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah
Fatir verse 22:
22 Nor are alike those that are living and those that are dead. Allah
can make any that He wills to hear; but
thou canst not make those to hear who are (buried) in graves.
Neither those who are alive have the power or the ability
to make the deceased hear what they wish for them to hear; nor those who are
dead and buried in their graves have any power or ability to chose what they
wish to hear……Allah Subhanah, the Majestic and Supreme Lord of the Worlds Alone
has the Power to make the deceased hear whatever He Alone Wills and Pleases for
them to hear.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
