Question:
Are people’s deeds presented to their close relatives?
In the book Minhaj al-Khatib by Maulana Abdul Mannan Rasikh, may Allah preserve him, a narration is quoted from Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
“When a believer dies, in the realm of Barzakh (the intermediate world) he meets righteous people, and the righteous people who have died ask the believer various important questions. Although only Allah knows the exact state of this, we have complete faith in our Quran and Hadith. At the end of this Hadith, these words are mentioned:
“إِنَّ أَعْمَالَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِكُمْ وَعَشَائِرِكُمْ”
Indeed, your deeds are presented to your close relatives and family members; if the deeds are good, they are pleased and happy and they pray: O Allah! This is Your grace and Your mercy. Complete Your blessings upon our beloved who has done this good and grant him death in this state. Similarly, the deeds of those who speak ill of the people of the Hereafter are also presented. They pray: O Allah! Grant him the ability to perform such good deeds that lead to Your pleasure and nearness.”
Abu Ibrahim Khurram Irshad Muhammadi Sahib has requested an investigation into the chain of narration of this Hadith.
Answer:
Investigation of the Hadith
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد:
The hadith you mentioned has been transmitted mursal by Imam Tabarani in his following books:
◈
◈
◈
◈
Condition of the Chain
The chain of this hadith includes Muslimah bin Ali, who is a weak narrator:
◈ Hafiz Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“In it, Muslimah bin Ali is weak.”
◈ Sheikh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
“And he (Muslimah bin Ali) is careless.”
Regarding the other narrator in this chain, Abdul Rahman bin Salamah, Sheikh Al-Albani says:
“I could not find his status.”
Therefore, Sheikh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) gave a final verdict on this hadith stating:
“ضعيف جدا” (It is very weak)
Maqfū Hadith
Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak رحمه الله’s book Zuhd (Hadith 443) contains a Mawkuf narration with this meaning from Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari رضي الله عنه, whose chain is as follows:
“عن ثور بن يزيد عن أبي رهم السَّمَعِيّ عن أبي أيوب الأنصاري”
Sheikh Al-Albani’s two different opinions:
➊ In Silsilat al-Ahadith as-Sahihah 6/604, Hadith 2758, he writes:
“قلت: وإسناده موقوف صحيح”
“I said: Its Mawkuf chain is authentic.”
➋ In the same book, volume 6, page 264, Hadith 2628, he writes:
“قلت: ورجاله ثقات لكنه منقطع بين ثور بن يزيد وأبي رهم….”
“I said: Its narrators are trustworthy but there is an interruption between Thawr bin Yazid and Abu Rahm.”
Meaning this chain is Munqati‘ (broken), so it cannot be called Sahih.
Other evidences and their weakness
➊ The narration of Salam al-Taweel – the narrator is Matrook (abandoned)
➋ The narration of Muawiyah bin Yahya – the narrator is weak
➌ The Mursal narration attributed to Hasan Basri
All evidences are weak.
Summary of the research
The mentioned narration is weak and rejected. It is highly likely that Maulana Abdul Mannan Rasikh Hafizahullah did not get the opportunity for a complete investigation of this narration, therefore he relied on Sheikh Al-Albani رحمه الله and included it in his book Minhaj al-Khatib.
واللہ اعلم
Warning:
The narration in
(
) is Hasan Lidhatihi. Shaykh al-Albani may Allah have mercy on him also mentioned it in
.
Translation of the related Hadith
Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“When a believer is in the throes of death, he observes various realities and prefers that his soul should now depart (so that he may meet Allah Almighty), and Allah Almighty also likes to meet him. The soul of the believer ascends towards the heavens, and the souls of the deceased believers reach it. They inquire about their acquaintances. When the soul replies that so-and-so is still in the world (meaning he has not yet died), they are pleased. And when it replies that (the person you are asking about) has died, they say: he has not been brought to us (meaning he has been taken to Hell).”
“A believer is seated in the grave and asked: Who is your Lord? He answers: My Lord is Allah. Then he is asked: Who is your Prophet? He answers: My Prophet is the Noble Muhammad, peace be upon him. Then he is asked: What is your religion? He answers: My religion is Islam.”
“(After these questions and answers) a door is opened in his grave and he is told to look towards his place of abode. He looks towards his grave, then it is as if sleep overcomes him.”
“When the enemy of Allah is in the throes of death and witnesses various realities, he does not want his soul to depart (so that he may avoid meeting Allah), and Allah also dislikes meeting him. When he is placed in the grave, he is asked: Who is your Lord? He replies: I do not know. He is told: You never knew. Then (in his grave) the door of Hell is opened, and he is struck with such a blow that every creature except jinn and humans can hear it. Then he is told: Sleep the sleep of ‘Manhoosh’.”
“I asked Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): What is meant by ‘Manhoosh’? He said: Manhoosh refers to a person who is bitten and gnawed by insects and snakes. Then his grave is made narrow.”
Other Ahadith and Traditions
➊
:
“الأَرْوَاحُ جُنُودٌ مُجَنَّدَةٌ، فَمَا تَعَارَفَ مِنْهَا ائْتَلَفَ، وَمَا تَنَاكَرَ مِنْهَا اخْتَلَفَ”
➋
:
It is narrated from Imam Muhammad bin Al-Munkadir, may Allah have mercy on him, that he said to Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him: “Convey my greetings to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.”
➌
:
The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
“إِنَّ الرَّوْحَ تَلْقَى الرَّوْحَ”
➍
:
A different narration:
“إِنَّ الرَّوْحَ لَا تَلْقَى الرَّوْحَ”
Meaning “The soul does not meet the soul.”
➎
:
“الروح یلقی الروح” or “لا تَلقى الروح”
➏
:
“تَلقى الروح” — with affirmation
This difference is between negation and affirmation, due to which this narration is contradictory, meaning weak.
Conclusion
In the light of authentic and non-contradictory ahadith, it is established that after death, souls do meet one another. However, the narration which contains the words:
“إِنَّ أَعْمَالَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِكُمْ وَعَشَائِرِكُمْ”
is not authentic in its chain but rather weak and rejected.
Date: 18 Shawwal 1433 AH, corresponding to 16 September 2012 CE
ھذا ما عندي واللہ اعلم بالصواب
