1. The Islamic Position: Death Is Not Annihilation
In Islam, death is not non-existence, but a transition from one realm to another (from dunya to barzakh).
The soul remains alive, conscious, and aware by Allah’s permission.
2. Qur’anic Verses Often Misunderstood
Some cite verses such as:
“You cannot make the dead hear.”
(Qur’an 27:80; 30:52; 35:22)
Correct Interpretation
Classical scholars agree that these verses are metaphorical, not literal.
They compare disbelievers to the dead:
Just as a dead body does not respond,
Disbelievers do not respond to guidance.
These verses are not denying hearing in the barzakh.
Major scholars who affirmed this interpretation:
Ibn Kathīr
al-Qurṭubī
al-Ṭabarī
3. Explicit Hadith: The Dead Do Hear
a) The People of Badr (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
After the Battle of Badr, the Prophet ﷺ stood over the bodies of slain Quraysh leaders and said:
“Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?”
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said:
“O Messenger of Allah, how do you speak to bodies without souls?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you do not hear what I say better than they do.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of Funerals
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
This is an explicit, authentic statement that the dead can hear.
b) Hearing Footsteps After Burial
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“When a servant is placed in his grave and his companions leave, he hears the sound of their footsteps.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
This hadith proves:
Consciousness
Perception
Hearing immediately after death
4. The Prophets Are Alive in Their Graves
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The Prophets are alive in their graves, praying.”
Reported by al-Bayhaqī
Classified authentic by many scholars
If ordinary believers hear, then the Prophets hearing is beyond doubt.
5. Sending Salām to the Prophet ﷺ
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is no one who sends peace upon me except that Allah returns my soul to me so that I may respond to his salām.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd
Musnad Aḥmad
This proves:
The Prophet ﷺ hears salām
He responds, by Allah’s permission
6. Scholarly Consensus on Limited Hearing
Ahl al-Sunnah and Shiʿa scholars agree:
✔ The dead can hear,
✔ but not independently,
✔ only when Allah allows.
Ibn Taymiyyah himself stated:
“The dead can hear in certain situations, as established in authentic hadith.”
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā)
7. Logical Conclusion
If the dead hear footsteps,
hear speech at Badr,
hear salām sent from anywhere in the world,
then hearing duʿāʾ, salām, or words of Tawassul is not strange or impossible.
8. Final Conclusion
✔ The dead do hear, by Allah’s permission
✔ This is proven by explicit, authentic hadith
✔ Qur’anic verses denying hearing are metaphorical, not literal
✔ The Prophets and righteous are more aware, not less
Therefore:
Belief in the hearing of the dead—especially the Prophets and righteous—is firmly established in the Qur’an, Sunnah, and classical Islamic scholarship.