Do the Prophets Pray in Their Graves? – Ḥadīth Analysis
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Issues of Tawḥīd & Sunnah, p. 18
❖ Question
Sayyidunā Anas رضي الله عنه narrates that the Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
“الأنبياء أحياء في قبورهم يصلون“
Meaning: The Prophets are alive in their graves and they perform prayers.
Is this ḥadīth ṣaḥīḥ or ḍa‘īf? Please provide a detailed and evidence-based answer.
Have Imām al-Bayhaqī, Imām al-Subkī, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī, Imām al-Haythamī, and Imām al-Suyūṭī رحمهُم الله declared this narration authentic?
(Question by Qārī Muḥammad Ismā‘īl Salafī, Jhang)
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, Amma ba‘d:
Origin of the Ḥadīth
The narration “الأنبياء أحياء في قبورهم يصلون“ is recorded in:
- Musnad Abī Ya‘lā al-Mawṣilī (Vol. 6, p. 147, ḥadīth 3425)
- Ḥayāt al-Anbiyā’ عليهم السلام by al-Bayhaqī (ḥadīth no. 2, via Abī Ya‘lā)
With the following chain:
“عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي بُكَيْرٍ ، عَنِ الْمُسْتَلِمِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ ، عَنِ الْحَجَّاجِ ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ“
Chain Analysis
① In this chain, al-Ḥajjāj is unattributed (no lineage or full identification given).
② His parentage or tribal affiliation is unknown.
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله said:
“نكرة: ما روى عنه فيما أعلم سوى مستلم بن سعيد، فأتى بخبر منكر، عنه…..”
(Mīzān al-I‘tidāl, no. 4601, biography 1727)
Meaning: This narrator is majhūl (unknown). According to al-Dhahabī’s knowledge, only al-Mustalim b. Sa‘īd narrates from him, and he has narrated from him a munkar report.
Why Identifying Ḥajjāj as Ibn Abī Ziyād al-Aswad al-Baṣrī is Incorrect
(a) Imām al-Dhahabī’s stance:
- According to Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar, al-Dhahabī was:
“من اهل الاستقراء التام في نقد الرجال“ (Nuzhah al-Naẓar, commentary of Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī, p. 736)
- Al-Dhahabī clearly knew al-Ḥajjāj b. Abī Ziyād al-Aswad al-Qusmalī and said in Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’, p. 767:
“بصري صدوق…….وكان من الصلحاء وثقه ابن معين مات سنة بضع وأربعين ومئة“
Thus, according to al-Dhahabī:
- One Ḥajjāj b. Abī Ziyād – Baṣrī, ṣadūq, thiqah.
- Another Ḥajjāj – majhūl.
(b) No explicit mention of “Ibn al-Aswad” in the chain:
- In al-Mustalim b. Sa‘īd’s narration, “Ibn al-Aswad” is never stated in any authentic chain.
- Ḥasan b. Qutaybah al-Madā’inī’s version does have it, but:
- He is matrūk, majrūḥ, and ḍa‘īf.
- His narration is rejected and invalid.
This narration appears in:
- Musnad al-Bazzār
- al-Fawā’id by Tamām al-Rāzī
- al-Kāmil by Ibn ‘Adī
- Ḥayāt al-Anbiyā’ by al-Bayhaqī
- Tārīkh Dimashq by Ibn ‘Asākir
(See: al-Ṣaḥīḥah by al-Albānī, Vol. 2, p. 187, ḥadīth 621)
(c) Mention in Tahdhīb al-Kamāl not a proof:
- Although Tahdhīb al-Kamāl lists Ḥajjāj b. Abī Ziyād al-Aswad among al-Mustalim b. Sa‘īd’s shuyūkh,
- Al-Dhahabī’s clear verdict takes precedence, making it non-conclusive.
Hence, those insisting that this “Ḥajjāj” is Ibn al-Aswad must produce authentic sanad-based proof.
Additional Note
The narration “al-Mustalim b. Sa‘īd, from al-Ḥajjāj, from Thābit” also appears in Akhbār Iṣfahān by Abū Nu‘aym al-Iṣfahānī (Vol. 2, p. 83), but:
- The chain is ḍa‘īf.
- The word “أحياء“ does not appear in that version.
Summary Judgment
- This strange narration is not authentic in terms of chain reliability.
- Therefore, lengthy discussion on it (as in Muḥammad ‘Abbās Riḍwī al-Barelwī’s Wallāh Āp Zindah Hain) is fruitless.
Did the Scholars Declare it Authentic?
- Imām al-Bayhaqī: No evidence in his works that he graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar: Attribution of authenticity to him is unsourced and disconnected.
- Imām al-Subkī: Not comparable in rank to al-Dhahabī in this field.
- Imām al-Haythamī: Though he declared some narrators thiqah, his grading is invalidated due to al-Ḥajjāj being majhūl.
- Imām al-Suyūṭī: Being from the late period, his grading is insufficient to establish authenticity.
Principle
- This narration is not ṣaḥīḥ according to the principles of ḥadīth and the science of narrator evaluation (Asmā’ al-Rijāl).
- All its supporting narrations are also ḍa‘īf or rejected.
Authentic Report from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
In this topic, the only reliable narration is in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, where:
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, on the night of Mi‘rāj, saw Mūsā عليه السلام performing prayer.
This was a specific miracle and cannot be generalized to all cases.
Further Reading
For more on the barzakh life of the Prophets (Ḥayāt al-Anbiyā’ عليهم السلام), see:
Taḥqīqī Maqālāt, Vol. 1, pp. 19–26
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
