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There is literally nothing
that we can beat the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
with in terms of with Ihsaan
Prayers for the dead, may God have mercy on you all
We started off this series with talking about how
the right of the Muslim on the Muslim is
that you pray janazah on them,
that you visit them.
And you think about loyalty and courtesy
and just the way the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
was so dedicated
to those that were dedicated to him.
And just like he did with that Abyssinian woman.
One of my favorite narrations
about the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is actually
in the final chapter
of his life, where the
Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam chooses
before his final illness to make two last trips.
And I'm not including the masjid (mosque) in that
because we know that in the end of the life of the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
he would try to go to the masjid as much
as he could until his health would no longer allow him to.
But his last two trips Alayhi Salatu Wasallam
were to go to Uhud and to visit the Shuhada of Uhud
and to seek forgiveness for them and make dua for them.
And then his final trip and the Hadeeth of Abu Muwayhiba
radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
a very famous narration.
The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said
I was commanded to
seek forgiveness for ahlul-Baqi
for the people of the Baqi.
So he goes out to the graveyard in the Baqi
and he seeks forgiveness
for his companions in the Baqi.
It's such a beautiful testimony to his character,
Alayhi Salatu Wasallam and setting the example for us.
So he makes those last two trips
to them to seek forgiveness for them, giving us that insight
into how often we should visit our loved ones
and how often we should make dua for them.
Now, a lot of times the question comes up.
Can they hear me when I go?
Do they feel me when I go?
and I want us to talk about this for a bit inshallah.
Now, obviously
with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
He has angels that roam the earth that deliver our Salaam
to him
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
No matter where we are
whether we're in Medina or in Texas or Morocco
or wherever, you say, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
It will reach the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salaam,
That is obviously something that is
for the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
For us when we go to the graveyards, what do we say?
Think about the dua that we make.
And it has various iterations.
As'salamu alaikum ahlildiyar min alMumineena wal Muslimeen
you say, peace beyond to you
oh inhabitants of the grave
from the believers and from the Muslim.
So you're giving a general Salaam
to everyone in the graveyard.
Wa'ina inshallahu bikum lahiqoon
And we are soon to follow.
Antum al sabiqoon, you are the forerunners
Wa'ina inshallahu bikum lahiqoon
And again, there are various iterations of this Hadeeth.
So you are the forerunners.
You have proceeded us, and we are soon to follow.
nasulluAllaha lana walakumu al afeea
We ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la for forgiveness
for us and for you.
So you're really talking directly
to them in that sense, right?
You're addressing the salaam to them
as you go into the graveyard.
And we know, of course
when we go to visit the grave of the
Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
we say, asalama alaika ya rasulullah
we send salaam to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
and then salaam to Abu Bakr
and then salaam to Omar, may Allah be pleased with them.
And you find by the way, with ibn Omar
radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
It's a beautiful narration
that when ibn Omar radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu would go
to greet the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
and Abu Bakr and Omar, it's different for him.
Why? Because Omar radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu is his father.
So what would he say?
He would say as'salaama alaika ya rasullullah
and then he would move over and he would say,
as'salaama alaika ya Aba Bakr
And then he would move over and say,
as'salaama alaika ya abati
Peace be onto you my dear father.
Subhanallah, so this is a beautiful thing
obviously that belongs to the children
of Abu Bakr and Omar when they would move
past the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
and Abu Bakr and Omar
So the question becomes once again
what is the value of going?
What is the value of saying Salaam?
Can they hear the Salaam?
Can they feel our presence?
The practice
of visiting the graveyard was actually late in legislation.
The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam actually said
that, inni nahaytakum ala ziyaratul quboor
I used to forbid you from visiting the graves
but then the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said visit
because it reminds you of death.
Why do I think this is so important in this discussion?
Because, it's not like they need us to visit them.
Meaning what? With the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
our salaam reaches him wherever.
And of course that's something only for the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, but with everybody
your duas or
at least those again on whose behalf, people of iman,
who on whose behalf good deeds are continued.
Your duas still count for them wherever you are.
Your dua at the graveyard is not better
than your dua at home.
Your good deeds that you do on their behalf
that can be anywhere, right?
And they're far more in need of that than anything else.
And that's to give us perspective
that the only reason the prohibition
of visiting the graves was lifted was for our benefits
not those that are the occupants of the graves, but
those that visit the graves to remind themselves of death.
However, remember when Amr ibn Aas, radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
was passing away
and he told his children to wait a bit so
"asta nasa bikum"
I can be comforted
by your presence until the messengers of my Lord
come to me.
There are narrations that seem to match
with what Amr ibn Aas radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu is saying
that when a believer goes to visit their brother or sister
in the graveyard, "asta nasa bihim"
that they feel their presence
and they respond to their salaam.
But again, even if those narrations are debatable
amongst some of the scholars
the point is that we go to say Salaam, regardless to them
we go to make dua.
We go to remind ourselves of death, knowing that dua
and good deeds will reach them wherever they may be.
So what can we establish
in regards to the hearing of the dead?
We know that they don't hear everything on earth.
And so they're not like the living and that they can roam
and be in your room and wherever they may be
and hear everything that's still going
on in this dunya.
But how much can they hear in their place, in their graves?
Right now, what we can establish is actually from the sunnah
of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
first and foremost, in regards
to the Janazah itself, that the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned that the person
hears the last footsteps leaving the Janazah.
There's also the Hadith in the aftermath
of the battle of Badr that after the disbelievers died
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
"ya fulan ibn fulan"
He started to call out to them one by one
those that were the enemies of Islam.
And he said, Oh, fulan, so-and-so the son of so-and-so.
Oh, so-and-so the son of so-and-so.
"Hal wajatum ma wa'aadikum rabukum haqa?
Fa'inni wajatum wa a'dinillahu haqa"
Have you found what Allah has promised you to be true?
Because we have certainly found what Allah has
promised us to be true.
And when the Prophets SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said
that they asked the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
ya rasullullah, can they hear what you're saying?
And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
You can not hear any better
than what they are hearing.
So Allah certainly caused them to hear what
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam was saying to them.
So what's the conclusion of all of this?
The conclusion is they will hear what Allah wants them to
hear, Allah will cause them to hear what Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la causes them to hear.
Your deeds can still reach them.
Your duas can still reach them.
And certainly there is a plethora of evidence
primary and secondary that establishes this idea
of going to the graveyard.
When we say Salaam to them
we don't ask them to do things for us.
We don't ask them to make dua for us, none of that
but that there is some comfort
and some connection with the Salaam to them.
And there's certainly an increased comfort with the duas
and the good deeds that you send on their behalf.