Alhamdulillahi rabbil ^alamin. Wa sallallahu ^ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ^ala alihi wa sahbihit-tayyibinat-tahirin. As’alullah an yaj^ala niyyatina khalisatan liwajhihi. ^Amma ba^du
We mentioned that the hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, informs us that after the dead person is buried, his soul returns to his body. We mentioned that some of the scholars said that the soul occupies again the whole body, and some said the soul returns and occupies a part of the body in a way that the person is able to answer the questions of the two angels in the grave. Anyway it is confirmed that the soul returns to the body.
The author said: It is more certain that the souls of the prophets return to their bodies after they are buried. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from Anas from the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, that he said “Al-anbiya’u ahya’un fi quburihim yusallun,” which means “The Prophets are alive in their graves praying.” Al-Bayhaqiyy classified this hadith as sahih, and Al-Hafizh Ibnu Hajar agreed with him on that.
Explanation: Among the beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah is that the souls of the prophets return to their bodies in their graves. The case is that the people other than the prophets would have their souls return to their bodies after burial. So how about the prophets? It is more so the case. Especially that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, mentioned explicitly this matter. He said “Al-anbiya’u ahya’un fi quburihim yusallun,” which means “The prophets are alive in their graves praying.”
Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated this hadith in a booklet he authored about the life of the prophets in their graves. He also judged this hadith as sahih. Other sayings of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, supports the classification of Al-Bayhaqiyy. Like the hadith in which the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, mentioned Nabiyy Musa and he told the Sahabah that Nabiyy Musa is buried next to a hill with red soil, and that he is standing in his grave praying.
Because it is confirmed that the prophets are alive in their graves, then there is nothing that prevents them from knowing about things which occur among us who did not die yet. So there is nothing that prevents our Prophet from making du^a for some people so they would overcome a certain difficulty or be patient with a certain calamity or the like.
It is confirmed in a hadith narrated by Al-Bazzar that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said “Hayatiy khayrun lakum, tuhdithoona wa yuhdathu lakum, wa mamatiy khayrun lakum, tu^radu ^alayya a^malukum, fa in wajad-tu khayran hamidtullaha, wa in wajadtu ghayra dhalik istaghfartu lakum,” which means “There is goodness for you in my being alive, because when you do certain matters Allah reveals rules and judgment for you to benefit from. And there is goodness for you in my death, because after I die I would be shown your deeds. When I know about something good I praise Allah and thank Him. And when I know about something bad, I ask Allah to forgive you.” So as it is very clear in this hadith related by Al-Bazzar, the Prophet knows about a part of the actions of his nation after his death. Not all of them, but a part of them, as clarified in another hadith. So there is nothing religious or intellectual that prevents the Prophet from knowing a certain difficulty that a Muslim faces and the Prophet helps him.
If you remember we mentioned in a previous class a hadith narrated by Muslim and others that Nabiyy Musa benefited the ummah of Muhammad a great benefit in what pertains to the number of obligatory prayers in a day and night. This occurs after his death during the night of al-Mi^raj. So if this is the case with Nabiyy Musa, how about Nabiyy Muhammad who is the best of the prophets? Especially that Allah tabaraka wa ta^ala granted Nabiyy Muhammad the status of martyrdom also, because as you know, Nabiyy Muhammad died because of being poisoned.
A Jewish woman sent Nabiyy Muhammad a poisoned shoulder of a lamb as a gift. The poison was strong and would kill immediately. The Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and another Sahabah ate from it. Then the Prophet told them not to eat because the shoulder told him that it has poison in it. The Sahabah did not eat from it. The Sahabah who ate from it died the same day. But the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, was affected by the poison for a whole year which was a miracle for the Prophet, because the poison used to kill immediately. But the delaying of his death for a whole year was an extraordinary matter. The effect of the poison was noticed by some of the Sahabah in certain parts of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.
In brief, the Prophet was a martyr also, added to the fact that he was the best of the prophets. So it would not be prohibited religiously and it would not be far fetched mentally that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, would benefit the Muslims while he is in his grave.
This matter of praying in their graves is confirmed for the prophets. But it occurs also to some awliya’. As occurred to Thabit Al-Bunaniyy, who was among the great tabi^in. He was a special student of Anas ibnu Malik. Whenever he came to Anas, Anas never told him he was busy and come later. Always he would give him permission to enter and sit with him. Whenever he entered the session of Anas, he would kiss his eyes and say “I would sacrifice my father for these eyes which saw the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam,” which means “How honourable are these eyes which saw the Prophet!” He would kiss his hands and say “How honourable are these hands which touched the hands of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.” After they buried him after a period, they opened his grave and saw him standing and praying. But this does not occur to all the awliya’.
Some ordinary people might witness an extraordinary matter related to the life of the Prophet in his grave. Like what happened to Imam Ahmad Ar-Rifa^iyy when he came to the grave of the Prophet and said “As-salaamu ^alayka, ya jaddiy,” [O my grandfather] and the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam answered “Wa ^alaykas-salam, ya waladiy” [O my son]. All the people in the mosque heard the Prophet’s reply. There were a lot of people there that year. 90 000 people were there. [Imam Ahmad Rifa^iyy lived in the 6th century A.H., ^Abdul Qadir Jaylanee died before Ahmad Rifa^iyy but they were both in approximately the same era].
[The Prophet died but then Allah brought him back to life in his grave. Abu Bakr said what means: ‘If somebody used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad is dead and for you who are worshipping Allah, Allah is forever living].