✦ Can the Deceased See Their Visitors? A Sharʿi Perspective ✦
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p. 118
Do the deceased see those who visit their graves?
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله۔
It is essential to understand that any claim regarding the hearing or seeing abilities of the deceased can only be established through one of two legitimate methods:
① Personal Testimony of a Deceased Person Returning from Barzakh:
A person must have died, experienced the life of Barzakh (the intermediate stage after death), and returned to this world to testify that the dead can hear and see.
However, no such event has been authentically recorded in which a deceased person returned and described the realities of Barzakh.
② Revelation from Allah ﷻ or Statement of the Messenger ﷺ:
Any claim must be proven through a narration from Allah ﷻ or His Messenger ﷺ, and such a narration must be authentically transmitted.
If anyone claims such knowledge without evidence, they fall into the category of those who fabricate lies against Allah.
In Zād al-Maʿād (1/141–142), he describes a unique quality of Fridays, stating:
✔ These reports are based on dreams or weak narrations, and none of them are supported by authentic ḥadīths.
✔ These sayings are not established from the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, or the Successors (Tābiʿūn).
✔ Any claim attributed to the Prophet ﷺ must be supported by a sound chain of transmission.
✔ Dreams and weak narrations cannot serve as Sharʿi evidence.
(Mishkāt 1/24; also in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī & Muslim)
“When a deceased person is buried and people begin to walk away, he hears the sound of their footsteps.”
✔ The narration only confirms hearing the sound of footsteps after burial—
✔ It does not indicate general hearing ability.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2/566)
The Prophet ﷺ addressed the slain disbelievers of Badr and said:
“Have you found the promise of your Lord to be true? I have indeed found mine to be true.”
The Companions asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Are you speaking to those who cannot hear?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “They hear me, but they cannot respond.”
✔ According to the scholars of ḥadīth, this incident was a miraculous event specific to the Prophet ﷺ,
✔ Not a general rule applicable to all deceased people.
“When someone greets (with Salām) at a grave, the deceased recognizes the Salām just as he did in the world.”
✔ However, even this narration is limited to the recognition of Salām,
✔ It does not serve as proof for the deceased hearing all forms of conversation.
✘ There is no authentic ḥadīth affirming this.
✘ The narrations often quoted are based on dreams and weak traditions.
Thus, this is an unverified belief in Sharʿi terms.
✔ They hear the sound of footsteps after burial.
✔ The incident of Badr was a miracle, not a general rule.
✔ Salām is recognized, but general hearing is not proven.
✔ Islamic teachings are as clear as daylight.
✔ Belief based on unauthenticated traditions is incorrect.
✔ Our ʿAqīdah must be rooted in Qur’ān and Sunnah,
✘ Not in dreams or weak narrations.
Therefore, to assert that “the deceased see their visitors” is not Sharʿi proven.
Anyone making such a claim must bring forth authentic proof from ḥadīth—otherwise, it remains a matter of conjecture and assumption.
ھٰذا ما عندي، واللّٰه أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p. 118
❖ Question:
Do the deceased see those who visit their graves?
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله۔
✦ Two Possible Bases for Validation
It is essential to understand that any claim regarding the hearing or seeing abilities of the deceased can only be established through one of two legitimate methods:
① Personal Testimony of a Deceased Person Returning from Barzakh:
A person must have died, experienced the life of Barzakh (the intermediate stage after death), and returned to this world to testify that the dead can hear and see.
However, no such event has been authentically recorded in which a deceased person returned and described the realities of Barzakh.
② Revelation from Allah ﷻ or Statement of the Messenger ﷺ:
Any claim must be proven through a narration from Allah ﷻ or His Messenger ﷺ, and such a narration must be authentically transmitted.
If anyone claims such knowledge without evidence, they fall into the category of those who fabricate lies against Allah.
✦ Well-Known Opinions and Their Status
➊ View of Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله:
In Zād al-Maʿād (1/141–142), he describes a unique quality of Fridays, stating:
- The souls of the deceased come near their graves and recognize their visitors on Fridays.
- According to one opinion, the dead gain increased perception on this day.
- Abū al-Layth Lāḥiq ibn Ḥumayd narrated that Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbdullāh would go to the cemetery early on Friday mornings. He reported, “I saw every person seated on their grave saying: ‘This is Muṭarrif, who comes every Friday.’”
➋ Other Scholars’ Views:
- Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله quoted al-Ḍaḥḥāk as saying: If someone visits a graveyard before sunrise on a Saturday, the deceased recognizes their visitor.
- Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ رحمه الله stated: The dead recognize their visitors on Friday, the day before, and the day after.
✦ Status of These Reports:
✔ These reports are based on dreams or weak narrations, and none of them are supported by authentic ḥadīths.
✔ These sayings are not established from the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, or the Successors (Tābiʿūn).
✔ Any claim attributed to the Prophet ﷺ must be supported by a sound chain of transmission.
✔ Dreams and weak narrations cannot serve as Sharʿi evidence.
✦ Do the Dead Actually Hear?
① Ḥadīth of “Fawʿ al-ʿĀl”
(Mishkāt 1/24; also in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī & Muslim)
“When a deceased person is buried and people begin to walk away, he hears the sound of their footsteps.”
✔ The narration only confirms hearing the sound of footsteps after burial—
✔ It does not indicate general hearing ability.
② Ḥadīth of the Well of Badr
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2/566)
The Prophet ﷺ addressed the slain disbelievers of Badr and said:
“Have you found the promise of your Lord to be true? I have indeed found mine to be true.”
The Companions asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Are you speaking to those who cannot hear?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “They hear me, but they cannot respond.”
✔ According to the scholars of ḥadīth, this incident was a miraculous event specific to the Prophet ﷺ,
✔ Not a general rule applicable to all deceased people.
③ Ḥadīth in Abū Dāwūd (1/279) – Do the Dead Hear Salām?
“When someone greets (with Salām) at a grave, the deceased recognizes the Salām just as he did in the world.”
- Some scholars have classified this narration as weak,
- Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله authenticated it in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd (2041).
✔ However, even this narration is limited to the recognition of Salām,
✔ It does not serve as proof for the deceased hearing all forms of conversation.
✦ Summary:
➊ Do the Dead See Their Visitors?
✘ There is no authentic ḥadīth affirming this.
✘ The narrations often quoted are based on dreams and weak traditions.
Thus, this is an unverified belief in Sharʿi terms.➋ Do the Dead Hear?
✔ They hear the sound of footsteps after burial.
✔ The incident of Badr was a miracle, not a general rule.
✔ Salām is recognized, but general hearing is not proven.
✦ Belief in Light of Qur’ān and Sunnah
✔ Islamic teachings are as clear as daylight.
✔ Belief based on unauthenticated traditions is incorrect.
✔ Our ʿAqīdah must be rooted in Qur’ān and Sunnah,
✘ Not in dreams or weak narrations.
Therefore, to assert that “the deceased see their visitors” is not Sharʿi proven.
Anyone making such a claim must bring forth authentic proof from ḥadīth—otherwise, it remains a matter of conjecture and assumption.
ھٰذا ما عندي، واللّٰه أعلم بالصواب
