Also, he says in his letter: Is it true that if a person visits the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and greets him, the Messenger does not hear his greeting?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Also, he says in his letter: Is it true that if a person visits the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and greets him, the Messenger does not hear his greeting?
The Shaykh : What appears to me from the evidence of the Shari'ah is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hears his speech, hears his greeting, and that it is conveyed to him. Likewise, the people of the graves, if one greets them, they hear it. This is because the Muslim says: "Peace be upon you," using the letter of address. There is a hadith that Ibn 'Abd al-Barr authenticated and Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned in his book *al-Ruh*, and no one has refuted it, which states: "There is no Muslim who passes by the grave of a Muslim he knows and greets him, except that Allah returns his spirit to him, and he returns the greeting."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is established in the authentic hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood over the slain—the slain of the polytheists—at Badr and said to them: "O so-and-so, son of so-and-so"—calling them by their names and their fathers' names.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh :Sunan an-Nasa'i 2075Sahih (Darussalam). So 'Umar or someone else said to him: "Did you speak to people who are just corpses, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: Sunan an-Nasa'i 2075Sahih (Darussalam).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed that they hear.
As for the saying of Allah the Exalted[An-Naml 27:80], the meaning is that you do not make the dead hear in a way of comprehension that benefits them. For the dead person does not hear when called or addressed in such a way that he responds to the one who called him. This is the intended meaning of the statement "you do not make the dead hear," as evidenced by the saying of Allah the Exalted [Al-Anfal 8:21]. He negated hearing from them because of their lack of obedience. Similarly, the dead are devoid of hearing or being made to hear because they do not benefit from it and do not respond to the one who makes them hear. This is what appears to me in this matter: that whoever greets the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he hears it. Yes.
The Shaykh : What appears to me from the evidence of the Shari'ah is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hears his speech, hears his greeting, and that it is conveyed to him. Likewise, the people of the graves, if one greets them, they hear it. This is because the Muslim says: "Peace be upon you," using the letter of address. There is a hadith that Ibn 'Abd al-Barr authenticated and Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned in his book *al-Ruh*, and no one has refuted it, which states: "There is no Muslim who passes by the grave of a Muslim he knows and greets him, except that Allah returns his spirit to him, and he returns the greeting."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is established in the authentic hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood over the slain—the slain of the polytheists—at Badr and said to them: "O so-and-so, son of so-and-so"—calling them by their names and their fathers' names.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh :
Have you found what your Lord promised to be true? For I have found what my Lord promised me to be true.
هل وجدتم ما وعد ربكم حقاً، فإني وجدت ما وعدني ربي حقاًYou do not hear what I say any better than they do
ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهمThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed that they hear.
As for the saying of Allah the Exalted