A Detailed Explanation of the Hearing of the Dead

Question

Is the hearing of the dead (sama‘ al-mawta) correct or not? Do the dead hear the call of the living or not, and if they hear, can they reply or not? Kindly explain the issue fully, keeping in view also the Qur’anic verses relating to it: [ar]إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلصُّمَّ ٱلدُّعَآءَ[/ar] “Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call” (Surah al-Naml, 27:80).

Answer

Three things call for consideration here: first, isma‘ (إسماع, “making someone hear”, conveying speech to the hearing); second, istima‘ (استماع, “listening”, hearing by one’s own effort); third, sama‘ (سماع, “hearing”). The negation of isma‘ is explicitly mentioned in the Noble Qur’an: [ar]إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ …

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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