Refutation of the People of Innovation: That the Dead Benefit from Supplication, and That the Vowels and Dots of the Qur'an Are Innovations
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The third question of Fatwa No. ( 2213 ):
Q3: Some of the people of innovation who call to the people of the graves said: How do you say that the dead do not benefit, when Moses (peace be upon him) benefited us, as he was the cause of the prayer being reduced from fifty to five? And some of them said: How do you say that every innovation is misguidance? What do you say about the vowels and dots of the Qur'an? All of this appeared after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So how do we answer them?
A3: First: The original ruling regarding the dead is that they do not hear the call of anyone who calls them from among the people, nor do they respond to the supplication of anyone who supplicates for them, nor do they speak with the living among humans, even if they were prophets. Rather, their deeds are cut off by their death; due to the saying of
Allah the Exalted:[Fatir 35:13-14] and His saying:[Fatir 35:22] and His saying:[Al-Ahqaf 46:5-6] and the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):Riyad as-Salihin 1383 narrated byMuslimin his Sahih, and what is excepted from this principle is what is established by valid evidence, such as the people ofal-Qurayshamong the disbelievers hearing the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) after the Battle ofBadrand his prayer with the prophets on the night of the Isra, and his conversation with the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them) in the heavens when he was raised to them. Among this is the advice of Musa to our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon them both) to ask Allah for relief from what He had made obligatory upon him and his community regarding the prayers. So our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred the matter back to his Lord until it became five prayers in every day and night. This is among the prophetic miracles and supernatural occurrences.
so one should restrict oneself to what has been reported in this regard, and not analogize other matters to it that fall under the generality of the original ruling; because remaining within the original ruling is stronger than departing from it by analogy to supernatural occurrences. It is known that analogy to exceptions from the original rulings is prohibited, especially when the cause is not known, and the cause in this issue is not known; because it is among the unseen matters that are not known except by revelation from the Shari'ah, and no revelation has been established in this regard as far as we know, so it is obligatory to remain with the original ruling. Second: The community is commanded to preserve the Qur'an in writing and recitation, and to recite it in the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught them. The language of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) was pure Arabic due to the few non-Arabs among them, and their care for its recitation - as it was revealed - was great. This continued during the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, so they did not fear mispronunciation in reading the Qur'an, and it was not difficult for them to read from the mushaf without dots or vowels. When the caliphate of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan came and the Muslims from among the non-Arabs increased and mixed with the Arab Muslims, they feared mispronunciation in recitation and it became difficult for them to read from the mushaf without dots or vowels. So 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ordered the dotting and vowelization of the mushaf, and al-Hasan al-Basri , and Yahya ibn Ya'mar (may Allah have mercy on them) carried this out. They were among the most pious, knowledgeable, and trustworthy of the Tabi'un; in order to preserve the Qur'an and protect it from
distortion, and to facilitate its recitation, teaching, and learning, as established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). By this, it becomes clear that both the dots and vowels of the Qur'an - even though they did not exist in the era of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) - fall under the generality of the command to preserve it, teach it, and learn it in the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his community; so that the message is completed, the legislation is widespread, and it continues until Allah inherits the earth and those upon it. And on this basis, it is not an innovation; because an innovation is: what is newly introduced and no specific or general evidence points to it. Some of those who speak about the Sunnah and innovations may call something like this: an unguided public benefit, not an innovation. And this may be called an innovation from the linguistic perspective; because it is not on the model of a previous precedent from the perspective of the Shari'ah; due to its falling under the generality of the evidences indicating the obligation of preserving the Qur'an and perfecting its recitation, learning, and teaching. From this is the saying of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he gathered the people on one imam in the tarawih prayers: "What a good innovation this is." And it appears that the dots and vowels fall under the generality of the texts indicating the obligation of preserving the Qur'an as it was revealed. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Q3: Some of the people of innovation who call to the people of the graves said: How do you say that the dead do not benefit, when Moses (peace be upon him) benefited us, as he was the cause of the prayer being reduced from fifty to five? And some of them said: How do you say that every innovation is misguidance? What do you say about the vowels and dots of the Qur'an? All of this appeared after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So how do we answer them?
A3: First: The original ruling regarding the dead is that they do not hear the call of anyone who calls them from among the people, nor do they respond to the supplication of anyone who supplicates for them, nor do they speak with the living among humans, even if they were prophets. Rather, their deeds are cut off by their death; due to the saying of
Allah the Exalted:
And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed. (14) If you invoke them, they do not hear your supplication; and if they heard, they would not respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection they will deny your association. And none can inform you like [one] Acquainted [with all matters].
وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ (13) إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لاَ يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ وَلاَ يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍbut you cannot make hear those in the graves.
وَمَا أَنْتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُورِ(5) And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware. (6) And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship.
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ (5) وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوا لَهُمْ أَعْدَاءً وَكَانُوا بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَافِرِينَWhen a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased).
إذا مات ابن آدم انقطع عمله إلاَّ من ثلاث: صدقة جارية، وولد صالح يدعو له وعلم ينتفع بهso one should restrict oneself to what has been reported in this regard, and not analogize other matters to it that fall under the generality of the original ruling; because remaining within the original ruling is stronger than departing from it by analogy to supernatural occurrences. It is known that analogy to exceptions from the original rulings is prohibited, especially when the cause is not known, and the cause in this issue is not known; because it is among the unseen matters that are not known except by revelation from the Shari'ah, and no revelation has been established in this regard as far as we know, so it is obligatory to remain with the original ruling. Second: The community is commanded to preserve the Qur'an in writing and recitation, and to recite it in the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught them. The language of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) was pure Arabic due to the few non-Arabs among them, and their care for its recitation - as it was revealed - was great. This continued during the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, so they did not fear mispronunciation in reading the Qur'an, and it was not difficult for them to read from the mushaf without dots or vowels. When the caliphate of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan came and the Muslims from among the non-Arabs increased and mixed with the Arab Muslims, they feared mispronunciation in recitation and it became difficult for them to read from the mushaf without dots or vowels. So 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ordered the dotting and vowelization of the mushaf, and al-Hasan al-Basri , and Yahya ibn Ya'mar (may Allah have mercy on them) carried this out. They were among the most pious, knowledgeable, and trustworthy of the Tabi'un; in order to preserve the Qur'an and protect it from
distortion, and to facilitate its recitation, teaching, and learning, as established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). By this, it becomes clear that both the dots and vowels of the Qur'an - even though they did not exist in the era of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) - fall under the generality of the command to preserve it, teach it, and learn it in the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his community; so that the message is completed, the legislation is widespread, and it continues until Allah inherits the earth and those upon it. And on this basis, it is not an innovation; because an innovation is: what is newly introduced and no specific or general evidence points to it. Some of those who speak about the Sunnah and innovations may call something like this: an unguided public benefit, not an innovation. And this may be called an innovation from the linguistic perspective; because it is not on the model of a previous precedent from the perspective of the Shari'ah; due to its falling under the generality of the evidences indicating the obligation of preserving the Qur'an and perfecting its recitation, learning, and teaching. From this is the saying of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he gathered the people on one imam in the tarawih prayers: "What a good innovation this is." And it appears that the dots and vowels fall under the generality of the texts indicating the obligation of preserving the Qur'an as it was revealed. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.