Fatwa ID: 05139

 

Answered by: Maulana Syed Johir Miah

 

Question

 

We believe Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is alive in his Qabr. How do we reconcile between this and Messenger’s (صلى الله عليه وسلم) soul being returned so he responds to the salawaat?

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

The life of Prophets in their graves is firmly established through authentic and explicit proofs.

Imam Bayhaqi [1] compiled a book on this topic, “the life of the Prophet’s(عليهم السلام)حياة الأنبياء في قبورهم

 

Imam Baihaqi has dedicated a whole chapter in his book Al-I’tiqad,

فَصْلٌ: والأنْبِياءُ عليهم السلام بَعْدَما قُبِضُوا رُدَّتْ إلَيْهِمْ أرْواحُهُمْ فَهُمْ أحْياءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ كالشُّهَداءِ، وقَدْ رَأى نَبِيُّنا ﷺ جَماعَةً مِنهُمْ لَيْلَةَ المِعْراجِ وأُمِرَ بِالصَّلاةِ عَلَيْهِ والسَّلامِ عَلَيْهِ. وأخْبَرَ – وخَبَرُهُ صِدْقٌ – أنَّ صَلاتَنا مَعْرُوضَةٌ عَلَيْهِ وأنَّ سَلامَنا يَبْلُغُهُ، وأنَّ اللَّهَ حَرَّمَ عَلى الأرْضِ أنْ تأكُلَ أجْسادَ الأنْبِياءِ، وقَدْ أفْرَدْنا لِإثْباتِ حَياتِهِمْ كِتابًا، فَنَبِيُّنا ﷺ كانَ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عز وجل قَبْلَ أنْ يُخْلَقَ نَبِيًّا -[٣٠٦]- ورَسُولًا، وهُوَ بَعْدَما قَبَضَهُ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ ورَسُولُهُ وصَفِيُّهُ وخِيرَتُهُ مِن خَلْقِهِ والَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ عَنْهُ أوامِرَهُ ونَواهِيَهُ خُلفاؤُهُ، فَرِسالَتُهُ باقِيَةٌ وشَرِيعَتُهُ ظاهِرَةٌ حَتّى يأتِيَ أمْرُ اللَّهِ عز وجل، صَلّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وعَلى آلِهِ وسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا

Chapter: And the prophets, (عليهم السلام), after they departed, their souls were turned back to them, for they were as alive with their Lord as martyrs, and our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)saw a group of the Prophets on the night of Miraj. He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was commanded of sending salutations and blessings and he (صلى الله عليه وسلم)informed us and his news is truthful, that our peace gets delivered before him and that our blessings reach him, and that Allah (عز و جل)has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets.[2]

 

Sayyiduna Anas ( رضى الله عنه ) reports that Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

said: الأنبياء أحياء فى قبورهم يصلون

“The Prophets(عليهم السلام) are alive in their graves and they perform Salaah”[3].

 

Sayyiduna Aus Bin Aus( رضى الله عنه )narrates that theProphet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said,

إنَّ مِن أفْضَلِ أيّامِكُمْ يَوْمَ الجُمُعَةِ، فِيهِ خُلِقَ آدَمُ، وفِيهِ النَّفْخَةُ، وفِيهِ الصَّعْقَةُ، فَأكْثِرُوا عَلَيَّ مِنَ الصَّلاةِ فِيهِ، فَإنَّ صَلاتَكُمْ مَعْرُوضَةٌ عَلَيَّفَقالَ رَجُلٌ: يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ تُعْرَضُ صَلاتُنا عَلَيْكَ وقَدْ أرِمْتَ – يَعْنِي  بَلِيتَ قالَ: إنَّ اللَّهَ حَرَّمَ عَلى الأرْضِ أنْ تَأْكُلَ أجْسادَ الأنْبِياءِ‘The best of your days is Friday. On it Adam(عليه السلام) was created; on it shall be the Nafakhah (when Israfil will blow the trumpet),on it all creation will swoon. So send a great deal of blessing upon me on this day, for your blessing will be presented to me.’ A man said: “O Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah! How will our blessing be presented to you when you have disintegrated?” He said: “Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets.[4]

 

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah that the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

ما مِن أحَدٍ يُسَلِّمُ عَلَيَّ إلّا رَدَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيَّ رُوحِي حَتّى أرُدَّ عليه السلام

“No one will send greetings of salam to me, but Allah will restore my soul to me so that I may return his greeting of salam”.[5]

 

The best way to reconcile these narrations is; the question arises about combining this hadith with the hadith: “The prophets are alive in their graves and pray” and all other hadiths that refer to the lives of the prophets.

 

وقال الشيخ تاج الدّين الفاكهاني في الفجر المنير: فإن قلت قوله «إلا رد الله عليّ روحي» لا يلتئم مع كونه حيًّا على الدّوام، بل يلزم منه أن تتعدّد حياته ووفاته؟ فالجواب: أن يقال المراد بالرّوح هنا النطق مجازًا، فكأنّه قال إلا ردّ الله إليّ نطقي، وهو حيّ على الدّوام ولكن لا يلزم من حياته نطقه فيدّر عليه النطق عند سلام كلّ مسلم، وعلاقة المجاز أنّ النّطق من لازمه وجود الروح كما أنّ الروح من لازمه وجود النطق بالفعل أو القوة، فعبّر عليه الصلاة والسلام بأحد المتلازمين عن الآخر

 

And Sheikh TajudDeen Al-Fakhani said in Al-Fajrul Muneer:

If you are to say he’s saying, “Except that Allah will return to me, my soul,” does not assemble with his being always alive, rather he must multiply his life and death? The answer is that what is meant by the soul here is the pronunciation as a metaphor as if he has said, “except that Allah returns to me my utterance”. And he is always alive, but it is not necessary from his life to utter it so that the utterance is managed over him with the salam of every Muslim.[6]

 

 

لعل معناه يكون روحه المقدسة في شأن ما في الحضرة الإلهية، فإذا بلغه سلام أحد من الأمة رد الله سبحانه وتعالي روحه المطهرة من تلك الحالة إلي رد من سلم عليه

Perhaps its meaning may be his holy spirit in the matter of what is in the Divine Presence. If the salam of one of the ummah reaches him, Allah Almighty returns his purified spirit from that state to the response of the one who greeted him.[7]

 

It could also refer to  كناية عن إعلام الله. A metaphor of Allah informing the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم)  .[8]

المؤلف: محمَّدُ بنُ عزِّ الدِّينِ عبدِ اللطيف بنِ عبد العزيز بن أمين الدِّين بنِ فِرِشْتَا، الرُّوميُّ الكَرمانيّ، الحنفيُّ، المشهور بـ ابن المَلَك (المتوفى: ٨٥٤ هـ)

وقَدْ مَضَتِ الرِّوايَةُ عَنْ أبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ، قالَ:» ما مِن أحَدٍ يُسَلِّمُ عَلَيَّ إلّا رَدَّ اللهُ عَلَيَّ رُوحِي حَتّى أرُدَّ عليه السلام «، ومَعْناهُ واللهُ أعْلَمُ،» إلّا وقَدْ رَدَّ اللهُ عَلَيَّ رُوحِي فَأرُدَّ عليه السلام “

Imam Baihaqi) رحمه الله ( said in his Shuabul Iman, “ and Allah knows the best regards to its meaning, except, but Allah will restore my soul to me so that I may return his greeting of salaam”.[9]

 

 

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Syed Johir Miah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

 

 

 

[1]Abu Bakr Ahmad Bin Al-Husain Bin Ali Bin Musa, Al-Khusrawjirdee, Al-Baihaqi, 384-458 H.

[2] Al-I’tiqad, Baihaqi, 305/1

[3] Musnad Abu Ya’la, Hadith 3425, 147/6, Darul Mamun, Damascus, Syria

[4] Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1636, 524/1, Dar Ihyaa Al-Kutub,

[5] Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2041, 218/2, Al-Maktabatul Asriyyah, Beirut.

[6] Mirqatus Saood, 538/2, Dar Ibn Hazm, Beirut, Lebanon, 1433 H

[7] Al-Kashif, Teebee, 1043/3, Maktaba Nizar Mustafa, Makkah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1417 H

[8] Sharhul Masabih, Ibnul Malik, 30/2, Idaratuth Thiqafah, 1433 H

[9] Shu’abul Iman, Baihaqi, 52/6, Maktabatur Rushd, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia