Abu Dawud

1؎ : The deceased hears the sound of the footsteps of those returning because he is below in the earth and those walking are moving above; he does not hear their conversation because there is no means for the voice to reach the grave. To deduce from this that the dead can generally hear (sama‘ al-mawta) is entirely incorrect, because in this hadith there is no mention of the deceased hearing the speech of those returning. Therefore, to establish the hearing of conversation from the hearing of the sound of footsteps is incorrect. Furthermore, in the hadith, the hearing of the dead is mentioned only in this specific circumstance, just as in the Battle of Badr when the slain Quraysh were thrown into the well of Badr and the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) addressed them—this too was a specific situation. To deduce from such incidents that the dead generally hear is not correct. In light of the evidences, the correct view is that the dead do not hear. (See the book of Allamah Alusi: "Do the Dead Hear?" as well as the treatise of Maulana Abdullah Bhawalpuri, "Sama‘ al-Mawta").