Do the Deceased Hear? A Refutation Based on Qur’an, Hadith, and Classical Scholarship

Adapted from the book "Tohfa Hanfiyyah" by Maulana Abu Sohaib Dawood Arshad حفظه الله

◈ Introduction to the Debate​

A claim made by Abu Bilal Jhangvi in Tohfa Ahl-e-Hadith is that "Ahl al-Sunnah believe the Prophet ﷺ hears salutations at his grave, while the Ghair Muqallid (non-conformists) deny this."
Let us evaluate this claim with authentic proofs from Qur'an, Hadith, and scholarly consensus.

◈ 1. Direct Hearing at the Grave – Is It Established?​

There is no clear and authentic proof in the Qur'an or Hadith that the Prophet ﷺ hears the greetings directly and without intermediary from people at his grave.

Challenge: Present a Qur’anic verse or a ṣaḥīḥ, ṣarīḥ, marfūʿ, muttaṣil ḥadīth affirming that the Prophet ﷺ routinely hears the greetings at his grave.
Otherwise, attributing unauthenticated beliefs to Ahl al-Sunnah is a grave misrepresentation.

◈ 2. Qur’anic Verses Denying the Hearing of the Dead​

Allah clearly states:
❝ إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَى ❞
"Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear."
[Surah An-Naml: 80]

❝ وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَّن فِي الْقُبُورِ ❞
"You cannot make those in graves hear."
[Surah Fatir: 22]
A similar statement is found in [Surah Ar-Rum: 52].

These verses confirm: The deceased cannot hear the speech of the living—except where Allah wills to make them hear.

◈ 3. Difference of Opinion Among the Sahabah and Scholars​

• The issue of sama‘ al-mawtā (hearing of the dead) has always been disputed.
• Umm al-Mu’minīn ʿĀ’ishah (رضي الله عنها) was among those who denied that the dead can hear.
  [Sahih al-Bukhari: 2/567]

Even leading scholars have acknowledged this ikhtilāf (difference), such as:

• Maulana Ghulamullah Khan [Jawāhir al-Qur’ān: 2/902]
• Mufti Muhammad Shafi’ [Maʿārif al-Qur’ān: 6/602]
• Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani [Tafsīr-e-Usmani: 545]
• Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi [Imdād al-Fatāwā: 5/437]

◈ 4. The Hanafi Position: Denial of Hearing of the Dead​

The Hanafi school is clear in denying that the dead can hear the living:
✔ Fatḥ al-Qadīr
✔ Fatāwā Shāmī
✔ Kifāyat al-Muftī [1/194] by Maulana Kifayatullah
✔ Jawāhir al-Qur’ān [2/904] by Shaykh al-Qur’ān Maulana Ghulamullah Khan

These references confirm the position of major Hanafi scholars such as:

• Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
• Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri
• Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani

Are these respected scholars to be excommunicated from Ahl al-Sunnah for denying sama‘ al-mawtā?

◈ Conclusion​

Sama‘ al-mawtā is not a unanimously agreed-upon belief in Islam.
There is no definitive Qur’anic or Hadith proof that the Prophet ﷺ directly hears greetings at his grave.

Those who insist on this belief must reflect on whether they are labeling revered scholars of Deoband and the Hanafi tradition as deviants—a position that lacks integrity and evidence.