In this post only 1 hadith will be discussed in detail. Special thanks for bro faqir for this material.
HADITH
Narrated Abu Talha: On the day of Badr, the Prophet ordered that the corpses of twenty four leaders of Quraish should be thrown into one of the dirty dry wells of Badr. (It was a habit of the Prophet that whenever he conquered some people, he used to stay at the battle-field for three nights. So, on the third day of the battle of Badr, he ordered that his she-camel be saddled, then he set out, and his companions followed him saying among themselves." "Definitely he (i.e. the Prophet) is proceeding for some great purpose." When he halted at the edge of the well, he addressed the corpses of the Quraish infidels by their names and their fathers' names, "O so-and-so, son of so-and-so and O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would it have pleased you if you had obeyed Allah and His Apostle? We have found true what our Lord promised us. Have you too found true what your Lord promised you? "" (Qatada said, "Allah brought them to life (again) to let them hear him, to reprimand them 'Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! You are speaking to bodies that have no souls!" Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, you do not hear, what I say better than they do.and slight them and take revenge over them and caused them to feel remorseful and regretful.") (Book 59, Hadith 314 , SAHIH BUKHARI)
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) let the dead bodies of the unbelievers who fought in badr (lie unburied) for three days. He then came to them and sat by their side and called them and said: O Abu Jahl b. Hisham, O Umayya b. Khalaf, O Utba b. Rab'ila, O Shaiba b. Rabi'a, have you not found what your Lord had promised with you to be correct? As for me, I have found the promises of my Lord to be (perfectly) correct. Umar listened to the words of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, how do they listen and respond to you? They are dead and their bodies have decayed. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, what I am saying to them, even you cannot hear more distinctly than they, but they lack the power to reply. Then'he commanded that they should be buried in the well of badr.
( Book 40 Hadith 6869. sahih Muslim)
Wahabis try to put forward another hadith to weaken this claim. Wahabis quote this hadith
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 he added, "Verily at this moment they hear what I am saying." Later on[12], this was mentioned to 'A'ishah[13], whereupon she commented, "What the Prophet (saws) meant was, "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]
Before we go for indepth analysis of this hadith , let us see what Imam Ibn Hajar ( RH) said
Here Hafiz Ibn Hajar RA is saying that Jamhor ( MAJORITY) has opposed Hazrat Ayesha RA in her view that dead people do not hear and have accepted Ibn Umar RA's hadith....
قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم أورده هنا مختصرا وسيأتي مطولا في المغازي وصالح المذكور في الإسناد هو بن كيسان ثالثها حديث عائشة قالت إنما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إنهم ليعلمون الآن ما أن كنت أقول لهم حق وهذا مصير من عائشة إلى رد رواية بن عمر المذكورة وقد خالفها الجمهور في ذلك وقبلوا حديث بن عمر لموافقة من رواه غيره عليه وأما استدلالها بقوله تعالى انك لا تسمع الموتى فقالوا معناها لا تسمعهم سماعا ينفعهم أو لا تسمعهم الا أن يشاء الله وقال السهيلي عائشة لم تحضر قول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فغيرها ممن حضر أحفظ للفظ النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وقد قالوا له يا رسول الله اتخاطب قوما قد جيفوا فقال ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم قال وإذا جاز أن يكونوا في تلك الحال عالمين جاز أن يكونوا سامعين إما بآذان رءوسهم كما هو قول الجمهور أو باذان الروح على رأي من يوجه السؤال إلى الروح من غير رجوع إلى الجسد
and here...
وقد ثبتت الأحاديث بما ذهب إليه الجمهور كقوله أنه ليسمع خفق نعالهم وقوله تختلف اضلاعه لضمة القبر وقوله يسمع صوته إذا ضربه بالمطراق وقوله يضرب بين أذنيه وقوله فيقعدانه وكل ذلك من صفات الأجساد
DETAIL ANALYSIS
الحديث: حَدَّثَنِي عُبَيْدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ عَنْ هِشَامٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ ذُكِرَ عِنْدَ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّ ابْنَ عُمَرَ رَفَعَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يُعَذَّبُ فِي قَبْرِهِ بِبُكَاءِ أَهْلِهِ فَقَالَتْ وَهَلَ إِنَّمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّهُ لَيُعَذَّبُ بِخَطِيئَتِهِ وَذَنْبِهِ وَإِنَّ أَهْلَهُ لَيَبْكُونَ عَلَيْهِ الْآنَ قَالَتْ وَذَاكَ مِثْلُ قَوْلِهِ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَامَ عَلَى الْقَلِيبِ وَفِيهِ قَتْلَى بَدْرٍ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ مَا قَالَ إِنَّهُمْ لَيَسْمَعُونَ مَا أَقُولُ إِنَّمَا قَالَ إِنَّهُمْ الْآنَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ مَا كُنْتُ أَقُولُ لَهُمْ حَقٌّ ثُمَّ قَرَأَتْ إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَى وَمَا أَنْتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُورِ يَقُولُ حِينَ تَبَوَّءُوا مَقَاعِدَهُمْ مِنْ النَّارِ الشرح: قوله: (ذكر) بضم أوله، وعند الإسماعيلي " أن عائشة بلغها " ولم أقف على اسم المبلغ، ولكن عنده من رواية أخرى ما يشعر بأن عروة هو الذي بلغها ذلك. قوله: (وهل) قيل بفتح الهاء، والمشهور الكسر، أي غلط وزنا ومعني، وبالفتح معناه فزع ونسي وجبن وقلق. وقال الفارابي والأزهري وابن القطاع وابن فارس والقابسي وغيرهم: وهلت إليه بفتح الهاء أهل بالكسر وهلا بالسكون إذا ذهب وهمك إليه. زاد القالي والجوهري: وأنت تريد غيره. وزاد ابن القطاع. قوله: (إن الميت ليعذب في قبره) الحديث تقدم شرحه في الجنائز، وقوله: " ذلك مثل قوله " أي ابن عمر، وقوله: " فقال لهم ما قال " ووقع عند الكشميهني " فقال لهم مثل ما قال " و " مثل " زائدة لا حاجة إليها. قوله: (يقول حين تبوءوا مقاعدهم من النار) القائل " يقول " هو عروة، يريد أن يبين مراد عائشة فأشار إلى أن إطلاق النفي في قوله: (إنك لا تسمع الموتى) مقيد باستقرارهم في النار، وعلى هذا فلا معارضة بين إنكار عائشة وإثبات ابن عمر كما تقدم توضيحه في الجنائز، لكن الرواية التي بعد هذه تدل على أن عائشة كانت تنكر ذلك مطلقا لقولها إن الحديث إنما هو بلفظ " إنهم ليعلمون " وأن ابن عمر وهم في قوله " ليسمعون " قال البيهقي: العلم لا يمنع من السماع، والجواب عن الآية أنه لا يسمعهم وهم موتى ولكن الله أحياهم حتى سمعوا كما قال قتادة، ولم ينفرد عمر ولا ابنه بحكاية ذلك بل وافقهما أبو طلحة كما تقدم، وللطبراني من حديث ابن مسعود مثله بإسناد صحيح. ومن حديث عبد الله بن سيدان نحوه وفيه: " قالوا يا رسول الله وهل يسمعون؟ قال: يسمعون كما تسمعون، ولكن لا يجيبون " وفي حديث ابن مسعود " ولكنهم اليوم لا يجيبون " ومن الغريب أن في المغازي لابن إسحاق رواية يونس بن بكير بإسناد جيد عن عائشة مثل حديث أبي طلحة وفيه: " ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم " وأخرجه أحمد بإسناد حسن، فإن كان محفوظا فكأنها رجعت عن الإنكار لما ثبت عندها من رواية هؤلاء الصحابة لكونها لم تشهد القصة، قال الإسماعيلي: كان عند عائشة من الفهم والذكاء وكثرة الرواية والغوص على غوامض العلم ما لا مزيد عليه، لكن لا سبيل إلى رد رواية الثقة إلا بنص مثله يدل على نسخه أو تخصيصه أو استحالته، فكيف والجمع بين الذي أنكرته وأثبته غيرها ممكن، لأن قوله تعالى (إنك لا تسمع الموتى) لا ينافي قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " إنهم الآن يسمعون " لأن الإسماع هو إبلاغ الصوت من المسمع في أذن السامع، فالله تعالى هو الذي أسمعهم بأن أبلغهم صوت نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم بذلك. وأما جوابها بأنه إنما قال إنهم ليعلمون فإن كانت سمعت ذلك فلا ينافي رواية يسمعون بل يؤيدها. وقال السهيلي ما محصله: إن في نفس الخبر ما يدل على خرق العادة بذلك للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، لقول الصحابة له: " أتخاطب أقواما قد جيفوا؟ فأجابهم " قال: وإذا جاز أن يكونوا في تلك الحالة عالمين جاز أن يكونوا سامعين، وذلك إما بآذان رءوسهم على قول الأكثر أو بآذان قلوبهم، قال: وقد تمسك بهذا الحديث من يقول: إن السؤال يتوجه على الروح والبدن، ورده من قال: إنما يتوجه على الروح فقط بأن الإسماع يحتمل أن يكون لأذن الرأس ولأذن القلب فلم يبق فيه حجة. قلت: إذا كان الذي وقع حينئذ من خوارق العادة للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حينئذ لم يحسن التمسك به في مسألة السؤال أصلا. وقد اختلف أهل التأويل في المراد بالموتى في قوله تعالى: (إنك لا تسمع الموتى) وكذلك المراد بمن في القبور، فحملته عائشة على الحقيقة وجعلته أصلا احتاجت معه إلى تأويل قوله: " ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم " وهذا قول الأكثر، وقيل: هو مجاز والمراد بالموتى وبمن في القبور الكفار، شبهوا بالموتى وهم أحياء، والمعنى من هم في حال الموتى أو في حال من سكن القبر، وعلى هذا لا يبقى في الآية دليل على ما نفته عائشة رضي الله عنها، والله أعلم.
Bismillāhi’r Raĥmāni’r Raĥīm Bukhāri, ĥadīth:3681, chapter: ‘the campaigns’ [al-maghāzī]
Narrated úbayd ibn ismāýīl, that abū usāmah narrates from Hishām from his father that he said: It was mentioned in the presence of áāyishah rađiyallāhu ánhā that ibn úmar elevates a report to [rafáa] RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam that the dead are tormented when that person’s relatives wail over them. She said: [tormented because of] of fright [wahil]. Verily RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam said that the dead man is punished for his mistakes and sins; and his relatives weep upon him now. And then she said: this is similar to what he [ibn úmar] has said [elsewhere – discussing funerals/al-janāyiz]: Verily, RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam stood upon the pit [qalīb] where the polytheists killed in badr were put and he did not say [as ibn úmar reports] ‘now they hear what i say’; rather he said ‘verily now they know [they realize] what i used to tell them is the truth.’ and then she recited the verses: ‘verily you cannot make the dead to hear’ [naml,v.80; rum,v.52] ‘and you cannot make them hear, those in their graves’ [fāţir, v.22] He [úrwah] said, ‘that is, when they are sent to hellfire’ ------------------------------------------------------- Fat’ĥ al-Bāri, Imām ibn ĥajar al-ásqalānī explains this ĥadīth thus: [dhukira] : it has been mentioned in ismāýilī’s narration, he says: ‘it reached áāyishah’ [anna áāyishata balagha-hā] however i don’t know who the reporter [muballigh] is. however, he [ismāýīlī] has another report from which it is inferred that it is úrwah who has reported this. [wahil]: fright, terror. it has also been reported as ‘wahal’ but that which is well-known is ‘wahil’; it is wrong both in meaning and also incorrect in tense. If it is read ‘wahal’ it means: [he is] terrified, forgetful, cowardly and apprehensive. [faziá wa nasiya wa jabuna wa qalaqa] Fārabī, Az’harī, Ibn al-qaţţā’á, Ibn faris, Qābisī and others have said: ‘wahaltu ilayh’ [i was scared/apprehensive about it] with the fat’ĥah; ‘ahil’ with kasrah and wahlan with sukūn. That is ‘when your doubt inclines towards that’ Qālī and Jawhari said: ‘and you mean [something] other than that and ibn al-qaţţā’á has added more.’ Translator’s note: this is a linguistic argument which doesn’t make much sense when translated; imām ibn ĥajar is discussing differences in usage. quite irrelevant to our discussion but translated here to remain consistent. [He said: ‘that is, when they are sent to hell’]: The reporter here is úrwah. He is trying to explain what áāyishah meant and indicates that the negation in the qur’anic verse: ‘you cannot make the dead hear’ is relegated and restricted [muqayyad] to the period after they [polytheists] are put in hellfire. And here there is no conflict in the denial of áāyishah and the affirmation of ibn úmar [that the dead hear] as this has been clarified and explained in the chapter on funerals. [al-janāyiz] However, the narration after this one proves that áāyishah denied [such hearing of the dead] in absolute terms, since she insisted that the ĥadīth was in the words ‘verily, they shall know’ and that Ibn úmar was mistaken [wahma] when he said ‘they shall hear.’ Bayhaqi said: ‘knowledge does not negate hearing’ The verse is then explained that ‘they cannot be made to hear when they are dead’ but then Allāh gave them life and then they heard’ according to qatādah. [also] úmar and his son are not the only ones who have reported this event [of those killed in badr being addressed]; even Abū ţal’ĥah agrees with them as we have described earlier. Tabarani has a rigorously authenticated report [isnādin saĥiĥ] narrated from ibn masúūd similar to this one. There is a similar report narrated from ábdullāh ibn sīdān and in that report it is has these words: ‘they [companions] said, yā RasūlAllāh do they [the dead] hear?’ he replied ‘they hear as you hear, but they cannot reply’ In [the book] al-maghāzi [campaigns] by Ibn is’ĥāq there is an exceptional [uncommon, gharīb] narration reported by yūnus ibn bukayr through a valid chain [isnādin jayyid] from áāyishah that is similar to the narration by abū ţalĥah and [additionally,] it contains: ‘you do not hear what i say anymore than they [the dead] do’ and [imām] aĥmed has [also] reported this with a well authenticated chain [isnādin ĥasan] and if this is retained, then it is as if she retracted from her former position of denial as proven from these companions [in these reports] because she had not witnessed that event [of badr, whereas úmar did] Ismāýīlī says: there is no doubt that áāyishah had the perspicacity, intelligence, a vast collection of narrations and a deep insight [al-ghawş fī ghawāmiđi’l ílm] in the sciences which is unrivalled; but still, even she cannot refute a report of a reliable narrator [in this case úmar and his son] except with a similar narration that can prove, either the abrogation, exclusivity or the impossibility of the contradicting report. [naskhihi, takhşīşihi, istiĥālatihi] therefore it is impossible to reconciliate [contradictory] reports of her denial and her affirmation except as above [that she retracted from her former position] Also the verse ‘verily, you cannot make the dead to hear’ does not contradict his saying şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam: ‘verily, now they hear.’ because ‘to make someone hear’ [al-ismā’á] is to deliver the sound in the ear of the hearer. And it is Allāh táālā who makes them to hear by making the voice of His prophet to reach their ears. And regarding what she [áāyishah] said in her report ‘verily they know’ she would not have negated the other report if she had heard of this one. Suhaiyli said that ‘it is evident from the query of his companions, that the basis of the very report is an unusual occurrence and a miracle of RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam, when they asked him: ‘do you address a people who are dead and rotten?’ and he replied to them [as mentioned in the ĥadīth above] So, if they can ‘know’ in that state, certainly they can hear? this is possible by their external ears – according to a most commentators – or by the ears of their heart. Those who say that ‘the question is directed towards the soul and the body’ use this ĥadīth as their proof. And those who refute them say: ‘the question is addressed only to the soul; because ‘hearing’ can be either by external ears or by the ears of the heart. [expression peculiar to arabic] and there does not remain any scope for further argument [lam yabqa fīhi’l ĥujjah] I say [ibn ĥajar]: if this was a miracle of RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam, it is not correct to use this as a proof for [the generic] matter of questioning [in the grave.] The qur’anic exegetes [ahlu’t ta-wīl] have differed on who is described by the word ‘dead’ in the verse: ‘verily you cannot make the dead to hear.’ Similarly, there is difference on who is described by ‘those in the graves.’ áāyishah inferred by the obvious meaning and took it as the principle to explain the saying of [RasūlAllāh] ‘you do not hear anymore what i say, than they do.’ that is what most scholars say [about áāyishah's denial]. It is also said that ‘the dead’ and ‘those in graves’ is a metaphor [majāz] that describes the disbelievers. that is, even though they are alive, they resemble the dead. If that is the case, then this verse cannot be used as evidence for what áāyishah rađiyallāhu ánhā negated. Allāh táālā knows best.
Ibn Taymiyya wrote in his book Kitab al-intisar fi 'l-Imam al-Ahmad, "It is not a guilt for Hadrat 'Aisha not to believe that the disbelievers thrown into the hollow in Badr heard Rasulullah, because she had not heard the hadith ash-Sharif. However, it is a guilt for others not to believe, because this hadith ash-Sharif spread so wide that it became one of those Islamic beliefs that must be believed absolutely." These words of Ibn Taymiyya proves that those who will not believe that the unbelievers in the Badr hollow heard will become unbelievers, because it is written in books of all the madhhabs that he who does not believe something which is to be believed absolutely in Islam becomes an unbeliever. Few 'ulama', including Hadrat 'Aisha (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anha), who said that the dead do not hear, in fact meant that dead disbelievers in graves would not hear. But there has not been any alim who has not believed that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) and the martyrs and awliya' of his umma hear in their graves.Ibn Taymiyya asks, "Do the dead recognize the people who visit them? If someone, whom they knew or did not know, comes to their graves, do the dead understand that a visitor came?" and answers: "Yes, they recognize and understand." He further writes the narrations about the dead meeting and asking about one another and about the deeds of living people being shown to them. 'Abdullah Ibn al-Mubarak reported, on the authority of Hadrat Khalid ibn Zaid Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, [Halid ibn Zaid (radi-Allahu ta'ala anh) died of dysentry as one of the soldiers commanded by Sufyan ibn Awf, who besieged Constantinople (Istanbul) in 49 A.H. (670). His shrine at the location called "Eyyub" in Istanbul is magnificient; visitors make tawassul of his soul.] the hadith ash-Sharif which says, "An angel of blessings takes the soul of a believer as he dies. The dead gather around him like those who want to hear good news in this world. They start asking him questions, while a few of them say, 'Leave your brother alone so that he may rest! He comes from a very embarrassing place.' They crowd around him. They ask about their acquaintances in this world. 'What does so and so do?' 'Has so and so gotten married!' they ask."
PLEASE NOTE
Hadrat 'Aisha (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anha) said that the disbelievers who were put into the hollow after the Battle of Badr did not hear. This is the reason why some people supposed that the dead, even if they were believers, did not hear in their graves. Some ignorant people said that martyrs, even Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), would not hear. Those who did not believe that the dead heard were mistaken, because, 'Aisha (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anha) said that only those disbelievers in that hollow did not hear. They though that this hearing was in the sense as used in the twenty-second ayat al-karima of Surat al-Fatir.Hadrat 'Aisha (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anha) said that only dead disbelievers did not hear, for, it was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif narrated by her, "When a person visits the grave of his brother-in-Islam and sits by the grave, he recognizes him and replies to his greeting," as we quoted above. This recognition and response of the dead person show that he sees the visitor and hears his greeting. Although 'Aisha (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anha) said that disbelievers did not hear, she said that they were able to know: another hadith ash-Sharif narrated by her states, "They now know that I told the truth." The 'ulama' declared that one could 'know' by 'hearing.' Therefore, there is no disagreement between these two words. Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, ['Abd ar-Rahman] Ibn Rajab [al-Hanbali (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), who passed away in Damascus in 795 A.H. (1393)] and as-Suyuti and many other 'ulama' said that it was as explained above. If 'death' meant 'becoming nonexistent' as some ignorant people say, all the senses of the dead would become nonexistent. The senses do not vanish as it is understood from the hadith ash-Sharif written in the Sahih of al-Bukhari and narrated by Hadrat 'Aisha and which says that the dead do know. In the hadiths narrated by other Sahabis, it is clearly expressed that the dead hear. Hadrat 'Aisha's thought that the word 'hear' meant [only] 'accept and believe' contradicts the consensus of the 'ulama'. The statement best reconciling her words and those of as-Sahabat al-kiram, then, is the hadith ash-Sharif about visiting graves which is also narrated by her.
