The Hearing of the Dead and the Madhhab of Imam Abu Hanifa

Question

Zayd says that Imam Abu Hanifa ﵀ does not affirm the hearing of the dead, and that certain rulings of fiqh are also based on this. Is this statement of Zayd correct or not? And is one who denies the hearing of the dead included among the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a or not? If the hearing of the dead — apart from the prophets ﵈ — is established from Imam A‘zam Abu Hanifa ﵀, kindly write its correct reference; and if it is not established, are the martyrs and the awliya also excepted or not?

Answer

Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has said: [ar]فَإِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلصُّمَّ ٱلدُّعَآءَ إِذَا وَلَّوْا۟ مُدْبِرِينَ[/ar] “Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when they turn their backs and go away” (Surah al-Rum, 30:52).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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