✍ Written by: Abu al-Qasim Naveed Shaukat
نحمده ونصلي على رسوله الكريم، أما بعد!
We praise Him and send salutations upon His noble Messenger. To proceed:
The deniers of Hadith employ various deceptive methods to reject the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ. Sometimes, they subject these narrations to their limited intellect; at other times, they reject them under the claim that they contradict the Qur'an.
Such individuals have appeared in the past as well, and scholars have refuted them with firm evidence. Following the same misguided footsteps, some modern individuals also attack authentic narrations. Among them is Khidr Hayat Bukhrawi, who rejects several authentic narrations from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, claiming that they contradict the Qur'an.
One such narration is the following:
Narrated by Sayyidunā Anas رضي الله عنه:
((العبد إذا وضع في قبره، وتولى وذهب أصحابه حتى إنه ليسمع قرع نعالهم))
"When a servant is placed in his grave and his companions leave, he hears the sound of their footsteps."
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1338, 1374 | Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2870
The Ummah has a consensus (ijmāʿ) on the authenticity of the narrations found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, as noted by:
ثم حكى أن الأمة تلقت هذين الكتابين بالقبول ... وهذا جيد
"The entire Ummah has accepted these two books (Bukhārī and Muslim), except for a few narrations criticized by scholars like al-Dāraqutnī. Thus, one must accept and act upon what the Ummah has deemed authentic."
Ikhtiṣār ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth: 39
"The highest level of authenticity, according to ḥuffāẓ (hadith scholars), is what is agreed upon by both Bukhārī and Muslim."
Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/421
"The scholars unanimously agreed that Ṣaḥīḥayn (Bukhārī & Muslim) are the most authentic books."
Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ 1/58
"The authentication by Bukhārī and Muslim is sufficient as a proof."
al-Tanbīh ʿalā Mushkilāt al-Hidāyah 3/39
This Hadith's authenticity has been acknowledged by the following scholars:
① Imām Bukhārī – Recorded in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1338, 1374)
② Imām Muslim – Recorded in his Ṣaḥīḥ (2875)
③ Imām Ibn Ḥibbān – Recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān (3120)
④ al-Baghawī – Declared: "This Hadith is agreed upon in authenticity." Sharḥ al-Sunnah 5/115
⑤ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī – Authenticated in Fatḥ al-Bārī, Book of Funerals
⑥ Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī – ʿUmdah al-Qārī 8/210
((والذي نفسي بيده، إنه ليسمع خفق نعالهم حين يولون عنه))
"By the One in Whose hand is my soul! Verily, he hears the sound of their footsteps when they leave him."
al-Mustadrak 2/377, ḥadīth 1418
✔ Declared authentic on the conditions of Muslim by al-Ḥākim
Bukhrawi claims:
"This narration was stated by narrators, not the Prophet ﷺ. The Qur'an says the dead do not hear, while this narration claims they do. Whoever reads it as 'yasmaʿ' (he hears) is denying the Qur'an."
This position is in direct contradiction to:
"To deny an authentic ḥadīth in itself is to deny hundreds of verses of the Qur'an."
Muqaddimah Faḍl al-Bārī, p. 103
Thus, according to Qārī Ṭayyib, Bukhrawi is guilty of rejecting the Qur'an while falsely claiming to follow it.
The verse quoted by Bukhrawi is:
﴿وما أنت بمسمع من في القبور﴾ – "And you cannot make those in the graves hear."
Sūrat Fāṭir: 22
But before this, Allah says:
﴿إن الله يسمع من يشاء﴾ – "Indeed, Allah makes whom He wills hear."
Hence, there is no contradiction. The hadith says the dead hear, and the Qur'an says only Allah grants the ability to hear — not that hearing is impossible. The contradiction lies only in the mind of Bukhrawi.
Named a chapter: "The dead hears the sound of their shoes."
The hadith shows that this hearing is not general, but specific to when the deceased is buried.
Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3/320
"This hadith is clear evidence that the dead hear."
al-Mufhim 7/147
The dead can hear in general, but it is not constant. They cannot benefit from commands due to their state. The hearing denied in the Qur'an refers to beneficial hearing, not physical perception.
Fatāwā al-Kubrā 3/62
The verses deny beneficial response, not auditory perception.
Aḥwāl al-Qubūr, p. 247
"This hadith proves the dead hear the speech of the living, just as they hear footsteps."
Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd 18/356
The verse does not negate the dead's ability to hear, only that you (O Prophet) cannot make them hear by yourself.
Tafsīr Anwār al-Bayān 4/212-213
"This verse does not contradict the hadiths; it negates the Prophet's ability to make them hear, not the hearing itself."
Maʿārif al-Qurʾān 6/11
Where hearing is proven through authentic hadith, we affirm it. Elsewhere, we withhold judgment.
Maʿārif al-Qurʾān 6/604
Khidr Hayat Bukhrawi calls this narration fabricated, yet provides no proof or names of narrators who fabricated it. This approach mirrors that of all hadith rejectors throughout history — when they fail to bring evidence, they resort to denial and mockery.
His claim that reading "yasmaʿ" (hears) makes one a denier of the Qur'an implies that the scholars of the entire Ummah, including Ḥanafī and Deobandi scholars, are Qur'an deniers — an outrageous and blasphemous accusation.
The claim of contradiction between Qur'an and Hadith in this matter is invalid. This hadith is:
Authentic by consensus
Affirmed by all major scholars, including Ḥanafīs and Deobandis
Not contradictory to the Qur'an
Bukhrawi’s assertions contradict not only authentic texts but also his own school’s scholars.
﴿وما علينا إلا البلاغ المبين﴾ – "And upon us is only the clear conveyance."
Sūrah Yāsīn: 17
❖ Introduction
نحمده ونصلي على رسوله الكريم، أما بعد!
We praise Him and send salutations upon His noble Messenger. To proceed:
The deniers of Hadith employ various deceptive methods to reject the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ. Sometimes, they subject these narrations to their limited intellect; at other times, they reject them under the claim that they contradict the Qur'an.
Such individuals have appeared in the past as well, and scholars have refuted them with firm evidence. Following the same misguided footsteps, some modern individuals also attack authentic narrations. Among them is Khidr Hayat Bukhrawi, who rejects several authentic narrations from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, claiming that they contradict the Qur'an.
One such narration is the following:
❖ The Hadith in Question
Narrated by Sayyidunā Anas رضي الله عنه:
((العبد إذا وضع في قبره، وتولى وذهب أصحابه حتى إنه ليسمع قرع نعالهم))
"When a servant is placed in his grave and his companions leave, he hears the sound of their footsteps."
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1338, 1374 | Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2870❖ Scholarly Consensus on the Authenticity of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim
The Ummah has a consensus (ijmāʿ) on the authenticity of the narrations found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, as noted by:
✦ Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله:
ثم حكى أن الأمة تلقت هذين الكتابين بالقبول ... وهذا جيد
"The entire Ummah has accepted these two books (Bukhārī and Muslim), except for a few narrations criticized by scholars like al-Dāraqutnī. Thus, one must accept and act upon what the Ummah has deemed authentic."
Ikhtiṣār ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth: 39✦ al-Zaylaʿī al-Ḥanafī:
"The highest level of authenticity, according to ḥuffāẓ (hadith scholars), is what is agreed upon by both Bukhārī and Muslim."
Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/421✦ Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī:
"The scholars unanimously agreed that Ṣaḥīḥayn (Bukhārī & Muslim) are the most authentic books."
Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ 1/58✦ Imām Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī:
"The authentication by Bukhārī and Muslim is sufficient as a proof."
al-Tanbīh ʿalā Mushkilāt al-Hidāyah 3/39❖ Major Scholars Who Deemed This Hadith Authentic
This Hadith's authenticity has been acknowledged by the following scholars:
① Imām Bukhārī – Recorded in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1338, 1374)
② Imām Muslim – Recorded in his Ṣaḥīḥ (2875)
③ Imām Ibn Ḥibbān – Recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān (3120)
④ al-Baghawī – Declared: "This Hadith is agreed upon in authenticity."
Sharḥ al-Sunnah 5/115⑤ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī – Authenticated in
Fatḥ al-Bārī, Book of Funerals⑥ Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī –
ʿUmdah al-Qārī 8/210❖ Supporting Hadith from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:
((والذي نفسي بيده، إنه ليسمع خفق نعالهم حين يولون عنه))
"By the One in Whose hand is my soul! Verily, he hears the sound of their footsteps when they leave him."
al-Mustadrak 2/377, ḥadīth 1418✔ Declared authentic on the conditions of Muslim by al-Ḥākim
❖ Response to Khidr Hayat Bukhrawi’s Claim
Bukhrawi claims:
"This narration was stated by narrators, not the Prophet ﷺ. The Qur'an says the dead do not hear, while this narration claims they do. Whoever reads it as 'yasmaʿ' (he hears) is denying the Qur'an."
This position is in direct contradiction to:
- The consensus of the Ummah on the authenticity of this narration
- The principles of Sharʿī evidence, which include ijmāʿ
- Statements of even Deobandi scholars like Qārī Ṭayyib, who said:
"To deny an authentic ḥadīth in itself is to deny hundreds of verses of the Qur'an."
Muqaddimah Faḍl al-Bārī, p. 103Thus, according to Qārī Ṭayyib, Bukhrawi is guilty of rejecting the Qur'an while falsely claiming to follow it.
❖ Refutation of the Claim of Contradiction with the Qur'an
The verse quoted by Bukhrawi is:
﴿وما أنت بمسمع من في القبور﴾ – "And you cannot make those in the graves hear."
Sūrat Fāṭir: 22But before this, Allah says:
﴿إن الله يسمع من يشاء﴾ – "Indeed, Allah makes whom He wills hear."
Hence, there is no contradiction. The hadith says the dead hear, and the Qur'an says only Allah grants the ability to hear — not that hearing is impossible. The contradiction lies only in the mind of Bukhrawi.
❖ Clarification from the Classical Scholars
✦ Imām al-Bukhārī:
Named a chapter: "The dead hears the sound of their shoes."
✦ Imām Ibn Baṭṭāl:
The hadith shows that this hearing is not general, but specific to when the deceased is buried.
Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3/320✦ al-Qurṭubī:
"This hadith is clear evidence that the dead hear."
al-Mufhim 7/147✦ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah:
The dead can hear in general, but it is not constant. They cannot benefit from commands due to their state. The hearing denied in the Qur'an refers to beneficial hearing, not physical perception.
Fatāwā al-Kubrā 3/62✦ Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī:
The verses deny beneficial response, not auditory perception.
Aḥwāl al-Qubūr, p. 247✦ Abū al-ʿAbbās Ibn Raslān:
"This hadith proves the dead hear the speech of the living, just as they hear footsteps."
Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd 18/356❖ Position of Ḥanafī and Deobandi Scholars
✦ ʿĀshiq Ilāhī al-Bulandshehrī:
The verse does not negate the dead's ability to hear, only that you (O Prophet) cannot make them hear by yourself.
Tafsīr Anwār al-Bayān 4/212-213✦ Idrīs Kāndhlawī:
"This verse does not contradict the hadiths; it negates the Prophet's ability to make them hear, not the hearing itself."
Maʿārif al-Qurʾān 6/11✦ Mufti Muḥammad Shafīʿ:
Where hearing is proven through authentic hadith, we affirm it. Elsewhere, we withhold judgment.
Maʿārif al-Qurʾān 6/604❖ Final Remarks
Khidr Hayat Bukhrawi calls this narration fabricated, yet provides no proof or names of narrators who fabricated it. This approach mirrors that of all hadith rejectors throughout history — when they fail to bring evidence, they resort to denial and mockery.
His claim that reading "yasmaʿ" (hears) makes one a denier of the Qur'an implies that the scholars of the entire Ummah, including Ḥanafī and Deobandi scholars, are Qur'an deniers — an outrageous and blasphemous accusation.
❖ Conclusion
The claim of contradiction between Qur'an and Hadith in this matter is invalid. This hadith is:
Authentic by consensus Affirmed by all major scholars, including Ḥanafīs and Deobandis Not contradictory to the Qur'anBukhrawi’s assertions contradict not only authentic texts but also his own school’s scholars.
﴿وما علينا إلا البلاغ المبين﴾ – "And upon us is only the clear conveyance."
Sūrah Yāsīn: 17