The faculty of hearing of the dead

One often wonders aboutthe soul's faculties in the barzakh (the stage
between death and the Resurrection). Can it hear? Can it see? Does it
have knowledge of certain things going on in the world? In order to
answer these and other questions, one must carefully scrutinize the
quality of the evidence presented in support of certain claims made by
scholars in this field.
THE DECEASED'S FACULTY OFHEARING
It is a common concept among some scholars[1] and others that the dead
in their graves have the ability of hearing a visitor's greeting, his
supplication, talk, etc. Such a concept is unfounded, for it has no
proof from clear texts of the divine shari'ah. In fact, it is in open
contradiction to the unchallengeable texts of the Quran and the
authentic traditions of the Prophet (saws) whichdeny the possibility
of the dead possessing this faculty.
PROOF FROM THE QUR'AN AND THE SUNNAH NEGATING IT
There are two unequivocal texts from the Qur'an which deny the
possibility of the dead in their graves possessing the faculty of
hearing. Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, states :
"Verily you cannot make the dead hear and you can not make the deaf
hear the call when they turn their backs and retreat." [Surah an-Naml
27:80]
"The living and the dead are not alike. Allah makeswhoever he wishes
hear, but you cannot make those in the graves hear."[Surah Fatir
35:22]
In the first verse Allah addresses His messenger, Muhamad (saws),
reminding him that he cannot make the disbelievers hear the invitation
to Islam, for they are like the dead, who do not hear either. In the
second verse Allah points to the difference between the living and the
dead - they are not all alike. He further clarifies to His prophet
that he cannot make the rejectors of faith hear themessage (for they
are dead in heart and in spirit) any more than he can make those in
the graves hear what is spoken to them![2]
Just as the Qur'an denies the possibility of the deceased possessing
the faculty of hearing, there are a number of texts in the sunnah
which arrive at the same conclusion. One such hadith follows:
Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet (saws) said:"Allah has angels who
travel about the earth; they [do and will] conveyto me the peace
greetingfrom my ummah." [Authentically reported by Abu Dawud]
This hadith clarifies that the Prophet (saws) does not hear the
greetings of peace from Muslims when they pronounce it upon him, for
if he could hear it directly, there would be no need of angels to
convey it to him. Therefore, it follows that the Prophet (saws) cannot
hear other forms of conversation directed to him either;[3] and it
stands even more to reason that the deceased,being lesser than the
Prophet (saws), also cannot hear the salam (greeting of peace) or any
other form of speech.[4] Thus contrary to a popular misconception,
because the Messenger (saws) cannot directly hear either one's
invocation of blessings[5]or one's salam addressed to him, such
greetings may be conveyed to him from anywhere, regardless of the
distanceor proximity of the greeter to the Prophet's grave. The
erroneous belief that the Prophet (saws) hears these greetings
directly disregards the previous hadith whcih specifies that the
greetings are conveyed to him by the angels, and it is based on a
forged tradition whose text follows:
It has been narrated that the Prophet (saws) said:"Whoever asks
blessings for me at my grave, I hear him, and whoever asks blessings
upon me from afar, it is conveyed to me." [This tradition was
mentioned by al-'Uqayli in his book, adh-Dhu'afa and by al-Khateeb,
Ibn 'Asakir, et. al., and they all agreed that it is a forged
(mawdhu') hadith. See al-Albani's al-Ahadith adh-Dha'eefah, vol.1,
hadith no.203]
ALLEGED EVIDENCE AND ITS REFUTATION
In order to refute the allegations which claim that the deceased in
the grave possess the faculty of hearing, it is essential to analyze
them and discover the means by which such allegations are dependent
upon weak and forged traditions and/or due to erroneous
interpretations of varioustexts.
There are a number of authentic narrations relating the Prophet's
address to the corpses of the mushrikeen (polytheists) of Quraysh who
were slain by the believers in the Battle of Badr and then thrown into
a dried well. The following two examples suffice for the purpose ofthe
present discussion:
Abu Talhah reported: "Onthe day of the Battle of Badr, Allah's Prophet
(saws) ordered that the bodies of twenty-four leaders of the Quraysh
bethrown into one of the foul, abandoned wells of Badr. On the third
day after the battle the Prophet called for his mount and saddled it.
Then he set out, so his companions followed him. They said amongst
themselves, "He must be going to something important." When the
Prophet (saws) arrived atthe well[6], he stood at its edge and began
addressing those therein by calling upon them by their names, "O so
and so,son of so and so; and you, so and so, son of so and so! Would
it not havebeen easier to have obeyed Allah and His Messenger? We have
found that which our Lord promised us to be true[7]. Did you find what
your Lord promisedyou to be true?[8] Thereupon 'Umar said, "OMessenger
of Allah, what are you saying to these bodies without souls?! Dothey
hear? For Allah, the Majestic and Mighty, says,"Verily, you cannot
make the dead hear." [Surah an-Naml 27:80] The Prophet (saws)
answered, "By Him in whose hand lies the soul of Muhammad, you did not
hear better than them and what i just said." Qatadah[9] added:"Allah
brought them back[10] to life (momentarily) in order tomake them hear
as a means of scorn and belittlement and [so that they would feel]
regret and remorse." [Authentically related by al-Bukhari and Muslim]
In another narration of this incident there is a slight variation in
the wording of the text which follows:
"Ibn 'Umar related: "The Prophet (saws) stood at the edge of a
well[11] at Badr and said, "Did you find the promise of your Lord to
be true?" Then headded, "Verily at this moment they hear what Iam
saying." Later on[12], this was mentioned to 'A'ishah[13], whereupon
she commented, "What the Prophet (saws) meantwas, "Now they know that
what I used to tell them is the truth." Then she recited, "Verily you
cannot make the dead hear," [Surah an-Naml 27:80] up to the end of the
verse." [Related authentically by al-Bukhari and others]
Some often misconstrue the texts of the two aforementioned hadiths as
proof for the contention that the dead can hear. However, the
following argumentationrefutes such a claim. This miraculous
circumstance in which the corpses of the slain Quraysh were made to
hear the Prophet's address to them is a special case - anexception to
the general rule that the dead do not hear.[14] By a miracle, Allah,
the Almighty, madethem hear the scolding from the Prophet (saws) -only
for the moment he spoke to them![15] This isclearly proven by the
second narration itself, for their hearing was said to be conditioned
bythe moment when the Prophet (saws) called outto them in scorn and
rebuke. He said, "At this moment they hear what Iam saying."
Furthermore,in the first narration the Prophet (saws) does not deny
'Umar's sound understanding of the verse's general ruling that the
does do not hear. Rather, the Prophet(saws) merely clarifies for'Umar
that what occurredat Badr was a divine miracle and, therefore, an
exception to the general ruling of the verse.[16]
Another text often quoted by those who believe that the dead canhear
is the following tradition:
Anas bin Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) said: "After the
deceased is placed in his grave and his companions[17] turn to leave,
he hears the shuffling of their feet as they walk away. Then there
comes to him the two angels." [Part of an authentic hadith related by
al-Bukhari and Muslim]
This text is not valid evidence for the general claim that the dead
can hear; rather, this tradition only specifies another exception to
the general rule. In this case, the deceased hears the shuffling feet
of those who attended his funeralas they walk away. This isa momentary
possession of the faculty of hearing which is terminated at the point
at which the two questioning angels[18] come to him[19].
From what has preceded,it is abundantly clear thatthe deceased
generally do not have the faculty ofhearing, for they are beyond the
barrier (barzakh) which separates our world fromtheirs. This proves
the gross error in the thinking of those who attempt to carry
on"conversations" with the dead, or worse, petition them for certain
things. Petitioning the dead is shirk, and this is indeed the greatest
of all sins.
FOOTNOTES :
1. Among those who erred in this matter are Ibn Abi-Dunya, Ibn
'Abdul-Barr, al-Qurtubi, Ibn al-Qayyim and ash-Shanqeeti.
2. See Tafseer at-Tabari, vol.21, p.36 and al-Qurtubi's al-Jami, vol.13, p.232
3. Thus it is absolutely foolish for one to attempt to converse with
the Prophet (saws)or others at their graves. To ask them for any form
of help is blatant shirk. Such is the misguidance spreadby Sufis, who
have gone astray.
4. See al-Ayat al-Bayyinat of al-Alusi, p.37, Published by al-Maktabah
al-Islamee [1982]
5. In Islam, it is encouraged to invoke blessings upon the Prophet
(saws) and thiscommonly follows the mention of his name in one form or
another.
6. Into which the bodies of the slain Quraysh had been thrown earlier.
7. That is, that the believers would have victory over their enemy,
the Quraysh. See al-Qurtubi's tafseer,al-Jami'u li Ahkam al-Qur'an,
vol.7, p.370 regarding the information about Surah al-Anfal, 8:7-10.
8. This is a reference to the Quraysh's supplication asking their Lord
to bring a painful punishment upon them if what Muhammad (saws) was
preaching was the truth. See Surah al-Anfal, 8:32.
9. A famouse tabi'ee and anarrator of this hadith
10. The slain Quraysh whobodies were in the abandoned well.
11. The same well mentioned earlier intowhich the bodies of the slain
Quraysh werethrown.
12. Most likely after the Prophet's death.
13. The beloved wife of the Prophet.
14. See al-Alusi's Ruh al-Ma'ani, vol.6 p.455
15. This is confirmed by many of the dependable commentators and
jurists. For example, see al-ayat al-Bayyinat, pp.29, 56 and 59.
16. See al-Ayat al-Bayyinat, pp.30-31
17. His friends and others who attended his burial.
18. There names are Munkar and Nakeer, and their fearful appearance
has been described earlier in this treatise. <{My note: There is some
disagreement amongst scholars some who say that theangels may not
really be called Munkar and Nakeer for the words Munkar and Nakeer
mean bad things in the Arabic language, whilst the angels are all
pure.}>
19. See al-Ayat al-bayyinat, pp.38 and56.