BENEFIT 373: Can the dead hear?

Question: What is the correct view regarding whether the dead can hear? Sheikh Najeeb Ash-Shar’abi ḥafidhahullāh responds: The most correct view is that, by default, the dead do not hear, as indicated by the Āyah: {إنما يستجيب الذين يسمعون والموتى يبعثهم الله ثم إليه يرجعون} “Only those who listen will respond. But the dead—Allāh will resurrect them; then to Him, they will be returned.” [Sūrah Al-An’ām: 36] And also: {وما أنت بمسمع من في القبور} “You cannot make those in the graves hear.” [Sūrah Fāṭir: 22] However, there are specific situations in which the dead may hear, as supported by authentic evidence. One such instance is when the Prophet ﷺ addressed twenty-four leaders of Quraysh who were killed at the Battle of Badr. As their bodies were thrown into a well, he said: ((يا فلان بن فلان، ويا فلان بن فلان، أيسركم أنكم أطعتم الله ورسوله؟! فإنا قد وجدنا ما وعدنا ربنا حقا، فهل وجدتم ما وعد ربكم حقا؟)) “O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would it not have pleased you to have obeyed Allāh and His Messenger? Indeed, we have found true what our Lord promised us. Have you found true what your Lord promised you?” Upon hearing this, ’Umar (may Allāh be pleased with him) asked, “O Messenger of Allāh, how can you speak to bodies that have no souls?” The Prophet ﷺ replied: ((والذي نفس محمد بيده، ما أنتم بأسمع لما أقول منهم)) “By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muḥammad, you do not hear what I am saying better than they do.” This narration is agreed upon and reported by Anas (may Allāh be pleased with him). Furthermore, in both Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhāri and Sahih Muslim, Anas (may Allāh be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: ((إن العبد إذا وضع في قبره وتولى عنه أصحابه إنه ليسمع قرع نعالهم...)) “When a servant is placed in his grave and his companions leave, he hears the sound of their footsteps…” This is the opinion upheld by the scholar Al-Albāni (may Allāh have mercy on him) in his introduction to his verification of the book "Al-Āyāt Al-Bayyināt fī ‘Adam Samā’ Al-Amwāt" by Al-Alūsi (may Allāh have mercy on him). Source: https://t.me/qweasdzxcmnblkjpoik/3096