Awliya -Dead Can Hear Ibn Taymiyah Imam Suyuti
“Bismillahir Rahmannir Raheem”Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was- Salaamu ‘Alaa Sayidinaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Asabihi Ajma ‘een (tauheed- risalat- ahkirat and islam-iman-ihsan)
Aulia qubur
Ibn Taymiyah narrates in his Fatawa (vol.24 p.331) that Nabi Muhammad ﷺ said that “When one passes by the grave of his mu’min brother who he had known in the dunya, and stands at the qabr and says, `Assalamu `alaykum’, the person in the qabr will know him and also return his greeting”(yarifuhu wa yarudda alayihi as salaam)”. This shows that the dead have awareness and are able to invoke Du`a for the living, as the Islamic greeting is a Du`a.
Ibn Taymiyah was asked in his Majmu at al-Fatawa (vol.24 p.362) whether the dead could perceive the living acquaintances that visit them. He replied that: There is no doubt that they can. And he quoted the following Sahih Hadith in substantiation of that: Evidence to this effect comes from the two Sahih books of Bukhari and Muslim where Nabi Muhammad ﷺ said that when the people have buried a dead person and leave for home the dead person can hear the steps of those who leave (yasma`u qar’a ni `alihim). (This even refers to the kuffar).
Imam Suyuti on the Life of the Dead
The Great Hadith and Tafsir scholar al-Suyuti was asked the following questions:
Do the Dead recognize their visitors and know their states in life?
Do the Dead hear what the living say?
Do the souls of the Dead meet and see each other?
He replied to all Questions : “YES”, and produced many Hadith in support.
About the Ayah which some people quote about the Dead not hearing, the learned Suyuti says that it is an allegorical statement (an-Nafi Ja’a ala m’ana al-Majaz). and the actual meaning of it is that “They cannot listen to Guidance (Ma’naha Sama` Huda) i.e. they are dead and they cannot be guided now”. Any scholar can check al-Hawi lil Fatawa (vol.2 p.169-175) by Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti.
When Najashi (the pious King of Abyssinia) had passed away, the Sahabah reported that there was LIGHT shining from his grave (yura ala qabrihi Nur). (Abu Dawud )
He was not even a Sahabi but it was believed that he was a Wali (had accepted islam but couldn’t meet the prophet).
Nabi Muhammad ﷺ saw a person sitting on a qabr and told him: “Do not harm the person in the qabr and he will not harm you.”(la tu’zi sahib al-Qabri wala yu’zeek). (Ibn Hanbal, Hakim and Tabarani)
The `Ulama of Hadith explained that this shows that the dead are affected by what people do at their Qubur.
This Hadith also shows that the dead feel what happens on the top of their graves. Otherwise, why not sit on a Qabr, if the dead does not feel anything? Therefore one should not harm or destroy Qubur.
On the other hand showing respect at a qabr and conveying your love to the inhabitant will also be felt by him and result in like action being returned to you .
The dead have the power to harm as well as to benefit you, each in their own way and according to their status with Allah (subhanu wa taala),of course.
The evil people of Thamud were destroyed, Nabi Salih (as) addressed them and said ” my people! I did indeed convey to you the Message for which I was sent by my Lord: I gave you good counsel, But ye love not good counsellors!”(7/79).
Nabi Shu`ayb (as) also addressed his destroyed nation and said similar words (7/93).
The fact that Nabi Salih (as) and Nabi Shuayb (as) addressed their destroyed nations proves that according to these Nabi’s, even the dead kuffar can hear. If the kuffar can hear in their graves (the destroyed people didn’t even have graves) why can’t Believers hear from their graves?
In a Sahih Hadith regarding the Battle of Badr, it is narrated that the Muslims threw Abu Jahal and other kuffar who were slain into a well. Nabi Muhammad ﷺ went to their Qubur and asked them whether they had found the promise of Allah (subhanu wa taala) to be true (that the kuffar would be punished.) Sayyidana Umar (r) inquired of Nabi Muhammad ﷺ whether the dead could hear him. Nabi Muhammad ﷺ explained that he (Umar) could not hear any better than them, but they did not have the ability to respond (Bukhari and Muslim).
When I want to talk to allah I say prayers and when I want that he talk to me I recite quran- Hazrath Ali(ra)
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