Advice for the Muslim

fatwâs of Qâdî-Khân, he who wishes that the dead be pleased by
hearing the Qur’ân al-karîm should read aloud, and he who has
not such an intention can read quietly. Because, Allâhu ta’âlâ
hears the Qur’ân al-karîm however it is recited. The book
Bazzâziyya says, “It is makrûh to pick up the green grass in a
graveyard, because all its leaves are busy with tasbîh (proclaiming
the glory of Allah). These tasbîhs help the dead in getting
redeemed from torture. The dead feel better with these tasbîhs.”
The same is written in ash-Sharnblâlî’s Imdâd al-fitâh and in many
books of other Hanafî ’ulamâ’. In view of the fact that the dead
hear the tasbîh of the grass which cannot be heard by living people,
which was declared by such great ’ulamâ’ who had become the
authorities to issue fatwâs, how can it be claimed that they cannot
hear the voice of a man talking to them? Those who said that the
dead do not hear probably meant that they did not hear as one
hears through the ear in this world. With this measure, the
statements made in books of fiqh on the subject of “oath” can be
brought into agreement with one another, and also Rasûlullâh’s
(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) hadîth is believed and thus
unanimity among the ’ulamâ’ results. If someone says, “Al-Imâm
al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih), who was a
madhhab leader, did not believe this,” we answer that this great
imâm, too, like other madhhab imâms, declared, “My madhhab is
based on sahîh hadîths.” In fact, he went so far in obeying
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) that he took the
mursal even da’îf- hadîths as documents in his madhhab. Can it
ever be thought of such an imâm that he would disobey sahîh
hadîths? It is understood here once more that a few ’ulamâ’, by
saying that the dead do not hear, meant that they do not hear as
one hears in this world. Because, it is not permissible for any ’âlim
to follow someone else’s word leaving a sahîh hadîth aside.
According to the unanimity of the Hanafî ’ulamâ’, visiting the
graves of Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) and his
two companions [Abu Bakr and ’Umar (radî-Allâlu ta’âlâ
’anhumâ)] in his shrine, greeting them and asking for their
intercession are sunna. If the ’ulamâ’ had not believed that
Rasûlullâh and his two companions heard, their words would have
disagreed and even they would have contradicted their own
declaration that it is sunna to visit any grave. There is no
disagreement left as their remarks on the subject of “oath” are
taken to be made for the hearing of living people in this world.
Supplement: Ibn Taimiyya wrote in his book Kitâb al-intisâr
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