The True Picture Concerning the Death of Our Prophet ﷺ

The true picture concerning the death of our Prophet

There are those misinformed people who believe that the Ahl as-Sunna wa’l Jama’a actually believe that the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not die!!What a gross accusation!!The true belief of the Ahle Sunna wa’l Jama’a is that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace),did die, but he is alive in his grave.

It is in the grave that the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is presented with our deeds, and makes supplication on behalf of the ummah. This will be looked into further in another chapter of the book, insha’llah.

There are also instances where the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) will appear in our dreams and comfort us with good news and glad tidings.

We also believe that to send salaam (salutations) to our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) will be met with a reply. There are many narrations that support this, which will be discussed later on in this book.

Blasphemic Belief

A great cholar of the Ahl as-Sunna wa’l Jama’a, Sayyid Ahmad Sa’id Shah Kazmi, writes:

“The one who states that the soul of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was not taken and he never died, is a Kafir and is out of the circle of Islam”

[Kazmi, Ahmad, S, S., Hayaat-un-Nabi, p8 ]

This is the belief of the Ahle Sunna wal Jammat but the people who say the Ahle Sunna believe that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has not passed away, have falsely accused us.

Shaykh al-Makka, Shaykh ‘Alawi Maliki, says that the meaning of the anbiya (prophets) passing away, is that they have been taken away from us and we cannot see them – just like the angels.

[Malki, M, A Mafaheem, page 165]

Proof that Prophets are alive.

Allah Most High says in the Qur’an,

“…those who have been slain in the way of Allah, never think of them as dead; but they are alive with their Lord, from whom they get their sustenance” [Sura al-Imran, verse 169]

Of course, it goes without saying that the position of the Prophets (peace be upon them) is above and beyond the status of those who are martyred in Allah’s way.This, however, implicates that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is alive too.

Qadi Shawkawni writes:

“In the Qur’an it is mentioned that martyrs are alive and food is provided for them. The Prophets and righteous people are a lot higher in status than them so what will be their place? It has been proven through Ahadith that Prophets are alive in their graves.Both Imam at-Tirmidhi and Imam al-Bayhaqi have said that these are authentic Ahadith”

[Qadi Shawkani, Nayl al-Awtar,vol 3, page 82]

Proof from the Hadith that Prophets are alive in their graves

Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘On the night of Mi’raj I passed Prophet Musa’s grave.He was standing in his grave and offering salat.’

[Muslim, chapter ‘Fadhail Musa’]

Qadi Shawkawni writes:

“Scholars agree that our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is alive in his grave and the earth does not eat the bodies of the Prophets”

[Qadi Shawkani, Nayl al-Awtar, chapter on ‘Hajj’]

Hafiz Ibn Qayyim writes:

“Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has said that on Fridays send as many blessings as you can on me.From wherever you sends blessings to me, your voice will reach me.The Companions enquired, ‘Even after your death?’ Our ‘Prophet, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied in the affirmative. This is because Allah Most High has made the bodies of the Prophets haram [forbidden] for the earth to eat”

[Ibn Qayyim, Jala ul Afham, page 63 ]

Imam Darmi writes:

“Sa’id Ibn al-Musayyib says, ‘In the days of Harrah (when Yazeed attacked Madina.) I was alone in Masjid-e-Nabavi for three days when there was no adhan or iqamah.I heard the adhan from the grave of our Prophet, and that’s how I knew the time of salat”

[Darmi, chapter on ‘Fadail Sayyid al-Mursalin’ ]

Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes:

‘A group of people heard the answer of their salaam. And, in the days of Harrah, Sa’id ibn al- Musayyib heard the voice of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying the adhan, from the grave.And there are more events like these and they are all true.

[Ibn Taymiyya, Iqtidah Siratul-Mustakeem, page 373 ]

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:

“‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that in his dream he saw the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and there was dust upon him, from travelling. In his hand was a bottle in which there was blood. I asked him, ‘What is this?’He replied, ‘My grandson Husayn and his Companions have been martyred, and I have collected the blood spilt by them and I shall present this blood to Allah Most High.’ This is an authentic narration.

“Umm al-Mu’minin Salma (may Allah be pleased with her) states: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in my dream; there was dust upon his hair and beard. I asked him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, why is there dust on you?’ He replied:’I am returning from Karbala’ ”

[Ta’rikh Ibn-e-Kathir, chapter on ‘Karbala’]

The pious can talk after passing away.

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:

“Zaid ibn Kharjah was one of the pious that talked after his death. When he died and was placed in his coffin, he started to talk and said: ‘I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah and his name Ahmad was mentioned in the previous scriptures (Old Testament and New Testament); and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were two caliphs and now it is Usman’s Government. Four years have passed and there are two years to go and conflicts will come and Muslims will become weak.’ A lot of scholars verify this narration including Imam Bukhari and Imam al-Bayhaqi.

“There was another pious person who talked after his death. ‘Abdullah Ansari reports that ‘In the time of Ali’s Caliphate I was walking among the martyred and a person spoke, saying that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), Abu-Bakar and Usman are all true.’ A group of scholars say that talking after passing away is true and these are authentic narrations”

[Tareek Ibn Kathir and Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, chapter on ‘al-Mujazaat’. Also, Ta’rikh ul Kabeer, Ta’rikh Bagdad, al-Jahrhu-Tadeel, Tahdeed al Tahdeeb, Usd al-Gaba; Bukhari,, Al Asabah – biography of Zaid ibn Kharjah; Khatib ibn abi Hatim, Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Imam Ibn Atheer].

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:

“There was a Tabi’i called Ribee ibn Harraash, and he said ‘I will not laugh until I know whether I am going to go to Heaven or Hell.’ When he died, and was bathed and placed in the coffin, he started to smile and started to talk. He said, ‘I met Allah and He was pleased with me and I asked him to give me permission to go back to the people and tell them that Allah is pleased with me, and He gave me permission. I am going back.’ This is in accordance with saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that ‘There will be a follower [Tabi’i] and after his death he will speak; and he will be the best among the tabi’een”

[Ta’rikh Ibn Kathir, Sirat un Nabi, chapter on Miracles; Ta’rikh-e-Bagdad, Tahdeeb at Tahdeeb, Ibn Kathir, Al Jahr hu wa Ta’deel; Khatib Baghdadi, Hafiz al-‘Asqalani; Ibn abi KHatim, Biography of Ribee ibn Harraash].

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:

“Ata ibn Khalid stated:’My Aunt went to the grave of Hamza (may Allah be well pleased with him) and said, “Assalaamu ‘alaikum!’She heard the answer of the salaam and the voice was coming from under the earth. She said, ‘I recognised the answer of my salaam as I recognise that Allah Most High has created me, and as I recognise the difference between day and night – that is how clear it was. Besides my slave and I there was no other person, which is why I was frightened’ ”

[Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, chapter on ‘Battle of Uhud’]

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:

“A young person used to come to the Mosque for his prayers. One day a woman with bad intentions invited him to her house. When he was in her house, he recited a verse from the Holy Qur’an loudly and collapsed and died from the fear of Allah. The people prayed the funeral prayer and buried him. ‘Umar (may Allah be well pleased with him) asked:’Where is that young individual who used to come to the Mosque for his prayers?’They replied:’He passed away and we have buried him’. ‘Umar (may Allah be well pleased with him) went to his grave and called out to him and recited a verse from the Holy Qur’an:’But for him who fears to stand before his Lord there are two Paradises'[Sura al-Rahman, verse 46]The young man replied from his grave ‘Indeed Allah has given me two Paradises’

[Tafsir Ibn Kathir under Sura al-‘Araf, verse 202]

It is proven that our Prophet, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), is alive in his grave. Shaykh ul Makka, Shaykh ‘Alawi Maliki says that the passing away of the Prophets only means that they have been taken away from us and we cannot see them, just as we cant see the angels. (Mafahim page 165 Shaykh ‘Alawi Maliki)

From the above we can conclude that the Prophets and the Righteous people are alive and can talk after they have passed away, and they can answer our Salaams after passing away. They are fully aware of the worldly matters, through the power that Allah most High, has granted them. Their life is much better than ours.