Death of PROPHETS

There are those misinformed people who believe that the Ahl as-Sunnah
Wa'l Jama actually believe that the Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) did not die!! What a gross accusation!! The
true belief of the Ahle Sunnah wa'l Jama, is that the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace), did die, but he is alive in his
grave.
It is in the grave, that the Prophet Muhammad, (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace), is presented with our deeds, and makes
supplication on behalf of the Ummah. This will be looked into further
in another chapter of the book, Insha Allah. There are also instances,
where the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) will
appear in our dreams and comfort us with good news and glad tidings.
We also believe, that to send Salaam [salutations] to our Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace), will be met with a reply back.
There are many narrations that support this, which will be discussed
later on in this book.
Blasphemic Belief
A great Scholar of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l Jama, Sayyid Ahmad Sa'eed
Shah Kaazmi, writes:
'The one who states that the Soul of the Prophet, (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace), was not taken and he never died, is a Kafir and
is out of the circle of Islam.
[Hayaat-un-Nabi, p8 by Sayyid Ahmad Sa'eed Shah Kaazmi]
This is the belief of the Ahle Sunnah wal Jammat but the people who
say the Ahle Sunnah believe, that Prophet Muhammad, (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace). has not passed away is a false accusation on
us.
Shaykh ul Makkah, Shaykh Alawi says that the meaning of the Anbiya
(Prophets) passing away, means that they have been taken away from us
and we cannot see them just like the Angels are.
(Mafaheem page 165 by Shaykh Alawi Malki).
Proof that Prophets are alive.
Allah most High says in the Qur'aam,
"…those who have been slain in the way of Allah never think of them as
dead; but they are alive with their Lord, get their subsistence"
[Surah Al-Imran verse 169]
Of course, it goes without saying that the position of the Prophets,
(May Allah bless them and grant them peace) is above and beyond the
status of those who are martyred in Allah's way. This however
implicates, that nevertheless, he (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace) is alive too.
Qadi Shawkawni writes:
In the Qur'an it is mentioned that martyrs are alive and food is
provided for them; The Prophets and Righteous people are a lot higher
in status than them so what will be their place? It has been proven
through Ahadeeth that Prophets are alive in their graves. Both Imam
Tirmizi and Imam Bayhaqi have said that this is an authentic Ahadith.
[Nayl al-Awtar vol 3 page 82 by Qadi Shawkani]
Proof from the Hadith that Prophets are alive in their graves
Our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), said: On the
night of Mi'raj when I passed Prophet Musa's (Alay hissalaam) grave.
He was standing in his grave and offering Salaah.
[Muslim chapter Fadhail Musa]
Qadi Shawkawni writes:
Scholars agree that our Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace), is alive in his grave and the earth does not eat the bodies of
the Prophets.
[Nayl al-Awtar chapter Hajj by Qadi Shawkani]
Hafidhh Ibn Qayyim writes:
Our Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), has said that
on Fridays send as much Blessings as you can on me. If when-one sends
Blessings to me, where-ever he may be his voice will reach me. The
Companions said even after your death, our 'Prophet, (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace), replied affirmative. This is because Allah
most High, has made the bodies of the Prophets haram (forbidden) for
the earth to eat.
[Jala ul Afham page 63 by Hafidhh Ibn Qayyim]
Imam Darimi writes
'Sa'eed Ibn Al-Musayyib says, "In the days of Harrah (When Yazeed
attacked Madina.) For three days in Masjid-e-Nabavi there was no
Adhan, or Iqamah, I was in the Mosque alone. I heard from the grave
our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), grave the
Adhan, and that's how I knew the time of Salaah"
[Darimi Chapter Fadhail Sayedul-Mursalin by Imam Darimi]
Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah says:
A group of people heard the answer of their Salaam. And Sa'eed Ibn Al-
Musayyib in the days of Harrah heard the voice of our Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace), saying the Adhan, from the
grave. And there are more events like these and they are all true.
[Iqtidah Siratul-Mustakeem page 373 by Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah]
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes:
Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with Him, said that in his
dream he saw the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace),
and upon him there was dust from travelling. In his hand' was a bottle
in which there was blood, I asked him: "what is this?" He replied, "My
grandson Hussain and his companions have been martyred, and I have
collected the blood spilt by them and I shall present this blood to
Allah Ta'ala." This is an authentic narration.
Ummul Mu' mineen Salma states: I saw the Messenger of Allah, (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace), in my dream, there was dust upon
his hair and beard, I asked him: "O Messenger of Allah why is there
dust on you?" He replied: 'I am returning from Kerbala.
[Tarikh Ibn-e-Kathir, chapter Karbala]
The pious can talk after passing away.
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes:
Zaid bin Kharjah was one of the pious that talked after his death.
When he died and was placed in his coffin, he started to talk, and he
said I bear witness that Muhammad is Prophet of Allah and his name
Ahmad was mentioned in the previous scriptures. (Old Testament and New
Testament) and Abu Bakr and Umar were two Caliphs and now it is
Usman's government. Four years have passed and there are two years to
go and conflicts will come and Muslims will become weak. A lot of
scholars verify this narration including Imam Bukhari and Imam
Bayhaqi. There was another pious person who talked after his death.
Abdullah Ansari reports that in the time of Ali's caliphate I was
walking among the martyred and a person spoke: That Muhammad (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace), and
Abu-Bakar and Usman are all true. A group of Scholars says that
talking after passing away is true and these are authentic narrations.
[Tareek Ibn Kathir and Sirat un-Nabi, chapter Al-Mujazaat by Hafidhh
Ibn Kathir. Also Tareekh ul Kabeer, Tareekh Bagdad, Al-Jahrhu-Tadeel,
Tahdeed al Tahdeeb, Usdul Gaba, Al Asabah biography of Zaid bin
Kharjah by Imam Bukhari, Khateeb Ibn abi Hatam, Hafidhh Ibn Hajr
Asqalani, Imam Ibn Atheer].
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes:
That there was a Tabi'ee called Ribee bin Harraash, and he said I will
not laugh until I know whether I am going to go to Heaven or Hell.
When he died, and was bathed and placed in the coffin, he started to
smile and started to talk. He said, "I met Allah and He was pleased
with me and I asked him to give me permission to go back to the people
and tell them that Allah is pleased with me, and He gave me
permission. I am going back. "This is in accordance with saying of
the, Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), he said that,
there will be a follower and after his death he will speak and he will
be the best among the tabi'een.
[Tareekh Ibn Kathir, Sirat un Nabi chap on Miracles, Tareekh e Bagdad,
Tahdeeb at Tahdeeb, Al Jahr hu wa Ta'deel by Hafidhh Ibn Kathir,
Khateeb Baghdadi, Hafidhh Asqalani, Imam Ibn abi Khatam, biography of
Ribee bin Harraash].
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes: that;
Ata Bin Khalid stated: My Aunt went to the grave of Hamza (May Allah
be well pleased with him) and said, "Asslam u alaikum!" She heard the
answer of the Sallam and the voice was coming from under the earth.
She said, "I recognised the answer of my Salaam, as I recognise that
Allah most High has created me. As I recognise the differences between
day and night, that is how clear it was. Besides my slave and I there
was no other person, which is why I was frightened."
[Sirat un-Nabi chapter War Uhad by Hafidhh Ibn Kathir]
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes:
A young person used to come to the Mosque for his prayers. One day a
woman with bad intentions invited him to her house, when he was in her
house he recited a verse from the Holy Qur'an loudly and collapsed and
died from the fear of Allah. The people prayed the funeral prayer and
buried him. Umar may Allah be well pleased with him, asked: 'Where is
that young individual who used to come to the Mosque for his prayers?'
They replied: 'He passed away and we have buried him'. Umar May Allah
be well pleased with him, went to his grave and called out to him and
recited a verse from the Holy Qur'an: 'But for him who fears to stand
before his Lord there are two Paradises' (Surah Al-Rahman, verse 46)
The young man replied from his grave 'Indeed Allah has given me two
Paradises'. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir under Surah Al-'Araf, verse 202]
It is proven that our Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace), is alive in his grave.Sheikh ul Makkah, Shiekh Alawi says that
the passing away of the Prophets only means that they have been taken
away from us and we cannot see them, just as we cant see the angels.
(Mafahim page 165 Sheikh Alawi Malki)
From the above we can conclude that the Prophets and the Righteous
people are alive and can talk after they have passed away, and they
can answer our Salaams after passing away. They are fully aware of the
worldly matters, through the power that Allah most High, has granted
them. Their life is much better than ours.
Whatever I have said may Allah Ta'ala accept this and if there is any
mistakes may He forgive me. (Amin)