Taken from: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
Did the polytheists killed in Badr and thrown into the well hear anything?
Twenty-four of the polytheists who were killed in the Battle of Badr were thrown into a well. Three days later, the Noble Prophet ﷺ called out to them by name and said:
“O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would it not have pleased you now if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger? Indeed, we have found our Lord's promise to be true. Have you also found your Lord's promise to be true?”
Upon hearing this, Sayyidunā ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) said:
يا رسول الله! ما تكلم من أجساد، لا أرواح لها؟
“O Messenger of Allah! Are you speaking to bodies that have no souls?”
To this, the Prophet ﷺ replied:
والذي نفس محمد بيده، ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم
“By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad! You do not hear what I say better than they do.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3976; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2874)
The Prophet ﷺ looked down into the well at the disbelievers and said:
هل وجدتم ما وعد ربكم حقا؟
“Have you found your Lord’s promise to be true?”
It was asked: “Are you calling upon the dead?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
إنهم يسمعون ما أقول كما تسمعون، ولكن لا يستطيعون أن يجيبوا
“Indeed, they hear what I am saying just as you hear, but they are not able to respond.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1370)
This ḥadīth also mentions that the disbelievers of Makkah heard the Prophet’s voice at a specific time.
إنهم الآن يسمعون ما أقول
“Indeed, they are now hearing what I am saying.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3980-3981)
This clearly indicates that the dead do not generally hear. This was also the belief of the noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم), which is why Sayyidunā ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) asked the Prophet ﷺ, “Why are you speaking to the dead, when they cannot hear?”
The Prophet ﷺ explained that the hearing of the disbelievers thrown into the well of Badr was an exception to the general rule regarding the hearing of the dead.
The Prophet ﷺ did not say that the dead hear after death in general. Rather, he specified: “At this moment, they are hearing me.”
This statement contains no indication of continuous or ongoing hearing, but rather implies its limitation to a specific moment, effectively negating permanence.
Ḥāfiẓ Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676 AH) quotes ʿAllāmah Māzarī رحمه الله (d. 536 AH) as follows:
Some people, based on the apparent wording of this ḥadīth, have claimed that the dead can hear. However, ʿAllāmah Māzarī refutes this and affirms that this hearing was specific to those disbelievers.
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2/387)
The incident at the well of Badr was a unique exception. The general rule remains that the dead do not hear, as understood by the Companions and clarified by the Prophet ﷺ himself.
❀ Question:
Did the polytheists killed in Badr and thrown into the well hear anything?
✿ Answer:
Twenty-four of the polytheists who were killed in the Battle of Badr were thrown into a well. Three days later, the Noble Prophet ﷺ called out to them by name and said:
“O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would it not have pleased you now if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger? Indeed, we have found our Lord's promise to be true. Have you also found your Lord's promise to be true?”
Upon hearing this, Sayyidunā ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) said:
يا رسول الله! ما تكلم من أجساد، لا أرواح لها؟
“O Messenger of Allah! Are you speaking to bodies that have no souls?”
To this, the Prophet ﷺ replied:
والذي نفس محمد بيده، ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم
“By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad! You do not hear what I say better than they do.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3976; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2874)
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) narrates the same event as follows:
The Prophet ﷺ looked down into the well at the disbelievers and said:
هل وجدتم ما وعد ربكم حقا؟
“Have you found your Lord’s promise to be true?”
It was asked: “Are you calling upon the dead?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
إنهم يسمعون ما أقول كما تسمعون، ولكن لا يستطيعون أن يجيبوا
“Indeed, they hear what I am saying just as you hear, but they are not able to respond.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1370)
This ḥadīth also mentions that the disbelievers of Makkah heard the Prophet’s voice at a specific time.
❀ Furthermore, it is stated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
إنهم الآن يسمعون ما أقول
“Indeed, they are now hearing what I am saying.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3980-3981)
✔ Conclusion:
This clearly indicates that the dead do not generally hear. This was also the belief of the noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم), which is why Sayyidunā ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) asked the Prophet ﷺ, “Why are you speaking to the dead, when they cannot hear?”
The Prophet ﷺ explained that the hearing of the disbelievers thrown into the well of Badr was an exception to the general rule regarding the hearing of the dead.
The Prophet ﷺ did not say that the dead hear after death in general. Rather, he specified: “At this moment, they are hearing me.”
This statement contains no indication of continuous or ongoing hearing, but rather implies its limitation to a specific moment, effectively negating permanence.
❀ Commentary by Scholars:
Ḥāfiẓ Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676 AH) quotes ʿAllāmah Māzarī رحمه الله (d. 536 AH) as follows:
Some people, based on the apparent wording of this ḥadīth, have claimed that the dead can hear. However, ʿAllāmah Māzarī refutes this and affirms that this hearing was specific to those disbelievers.
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2/387)
✦ Summary:
The incident at the well of Badr was a unique exception. The general rule remains that the dead do not hear, as understood by the Companions and clarified by the Prophet ﷺ himself.
