A Different Dimension

Assalamu alaikum, today's post is the first part of my notes from Lesson 183 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 8th February 2008. In this lesson, we studied ahadeeth 694-697. The notes below are for hadeeth 694.

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باب: الميت يُعْرَضُ عَلَيهِ مقعده بِالغَدَاةِ وَالعَشِي

CHAPTER 45. The deceased is shown his actual place (in Paradise or in Hell) both in the morning and in the afternoon.

694. عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا: أَنّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: (إِنّ أَحَدَكُمْ إِذَا مَاتَ, عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ مَقْعَدُهُ بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيّ, إِنْ كانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الجَنّةِ فَمِنْ أَهْلِ الجَنّةِ, وَإِنْ كانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النّارِ فَمِنْ أَهْلِ النّارِ, فَيُقَالُ: هذَا مَقْعَدُكَ حَتّى يَبْعَثَكَ اللهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ). رواه البخاري 1379 .

Narrated 'Abdullâh bin 'Umar رضى الله عنهما : Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, When anyone of you dies, he is shown his place both in the morning and in the afternoon. If he is one of the people of Paradise; he is shown his place in it, and if he is from the people of the Hellfire; he is shown his place therein. Then it is said to him, 'This is your place till Allâh resurrect you on the Day of Resurrection.' (2:461O.B)

In this hadeeth, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم informs us that when anyone dies (believer or non-believer) then each morning and evening his seat (where he is destined to ultimately go) i.e. his place either in paradise or in the hellfire is revealed to him. He is constantly reminded of his ultimate destiny. There are a number of points we need to understand about this hadeeth such as ‘morning and evening’.

When a person passes away they are in a different dimension altogether .Our reality is different and their reality is different. The things we perceive, feel and sense are real as are the things which they perceive, feel and sense; just because we can’t see any tell-tale signs of this, it does not mean that it is not happening.

And when Allah سبحانه وتعالى will withhold the soul at the time of death for it to be never released again, then the experience for it is real; despite being in a completely different dimension and universe the experience will be real and the punishment will be real. The soul will physically feel the pain and the torment; similarly for the good soul pleasure will also be felt for real. In the lesson, the respected Shaykh said he would suffice with just saying that for the deceased it is quite simply a different dimension without elaborating on this further.

Some people in the past have questioned whether the deceased person has any concept of time, morning or evening, especially as there is no sun or other factors pertaining to morning and evening as we understand it in the worldly life. Again, we accept exactly as it is; morning and evening as Allah سبحانه وتعالى has destined for them. In fact, Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Quran that their food and their sustenance will be brought to them morning and evening. Thus, there will be a morning and evening in Jannah and there will be morning and evening in the grave; how is this? It is a different dimension, so each morning and evening the place of the person, the person’s ultimate place and abode and destiny is exposed and shown to them. The deceased person is reminded of it.

We learn that if someone is destined for the hellfire for eternity then their place will be shown to them. The question we can ask is what of the believer who is destined to suffer in the hellfire for a short period for the sins that they have committed, but will ultimately go to Jannah (once their sins have been purged and they have been cleaned and purified); so will they be shown their place of the fire or they will be shown their place of Jannah? Ultimately they will be shown their place of Jannah. But they may also be reminded of Jahannam (Allah knows best) but we are discussing the ultimate destiny in this hadeeth. They will be reminded of their ultimate destiny till Allah سبحانه وتعالى resurrects them on the day of judgment.

I have found the promise of my Lord to be true

Assalamu alaikum, today's post is the second part of my notes from Lesson 182 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 1st February 2008. In this lesson, we studied ahadeeth 688-693. The notes below are for hadeeth 689 and 690.

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689. عَن ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: اطّلَعَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى أَهْلِ الْقَلِيبِ, فَقَالَ: (وَجَدْتُمْ ما وَعَدَ رَبّكُمْ حَقّا). فَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَتَدْعُو أَمْواتًا فَقَالَ: (ما أَنْتُمْ بِأَسْمَعَ مِنْهُمْ, وَلكِنْ لاَ يُجِيبُونَ). رواه البخاري: 1370



689. Narrated Ibn 'Umar رضى الله عنهما : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looked at the dead people of the well (the well in which there were the bodies of those pagans killed during the battle of Badr) and said, Have you found true what your Lord promised you? Somebody said to him, You are addressing dead people. He replied, You do not hear better than they but they cannot reply. (2:452O.B.)

The refers to an incident that happened after the battle of Badr when 313 sahabah fought an army of around 1000 Quraish in which many of the chieftains of the Quraish fell. After the battle, many others were taken captive as prisoners. Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stayed in the vicinity of Badr for three days. The bodies of the fallen Quraish remained there. After three days, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came back to the battlefield and ordered the bodies of 24 of the chieftains of the Quraish whose bodies remained there to be placed in a well that was there. This does not refer to a built, raised well as we normally think of. It was an open well which hadn’t been built up – there was a natural well at Badr which was the reason why the Muslims had camped there in the first place. Those Quraish whose bodies were placed in that well became known as ‘People of the Well’. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looked over them and addressed them - from other narrations we learn that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم addressed each one e.g. ‘Oh Abu Jahl’ and so on. He mentioned each of them by name and said ‘I have found the promise of my Lord to be true’ i.e. he shall give me victory over you. These are actually words of the Qur’an when the people of Jannah shall call out to the people of Jahanam ‘وَجَدْتُمْ ما وَعَدَ رَبّكُمْ حَقّا’. (‘We have discovered the promise of our Lord to be true. Have you discovered the promise of your Lord to be true?’). So, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used the same words to address the chieftains of the Quriash who were dead ‘I have found the promise of my Lord to be true. Have you found the promise of your Lord to be true?’ The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم meant that you will be punished in your graves – have you discovered the punishment of your Lord to be true in the graves?
We learn from other narrations (such as that of Imam Muslim) that the person that spoke to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was Sayyiduna Umar ibn Khattab رضى الله عنه who said ‘Oh Prophet of Allah, Do you call out to the dead? They cannot hear you’. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said ‘You cannot hear any more than they can but they do not answer’. Now, there are some issues of discussion here. The first is a discussion about the punishment of the grave and second is whether the dead can hear.

The respected Shaykh discussed the second topic first – can the dead hear e.g. what is happening in their surroundings. This is a classical theological discussion and there was even a difference amongst the sahabah. Some people believe that Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها was of the opinion that the dead could not hear but the others believed that the dead could hear. This comes about because of the next hadeeth.

690. عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: إِنّمَا قَالَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: (إِنّهُمْ لَيَعْلَمُونَ الاَن أَنّ ما كنْتُ أَقُولُ حَقّ). وَقَدْ قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: (إِنّكَ لاَ تُسْمِعُ المَوْتَى). رواه البخاري: 1371


690. Narrated A'isha رضى الله عنها : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, They (the Quraish pagans killed during the battle of Badr) now realise that what I used to tell them was the truth. And Allâh تعالى said, 'Verily! You cannot make the dead to hear (i.e. benefit them, and similarly the disbelievers) nor can you make the deaf hear. (V.27:80). (2:453O.B.)

This hadeeth is actually related to the previous subject matter. Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه narrates the incident that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stood over the people of the well and addressed them. Actually, Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه was not actually present at the battle of Badr as he was too young. Other sahabah also relate this hadeeth even though they were also not present. When Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها heard that certain companions were narrating this hadeeth actually she did not accept their narrations. For a certain time she was of the opinion that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم only said ‘They know now that what I used to say is the truth’. She accepted that they came to know of Allah’s promise but did not accept that they could actually hear the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Also, it has been attributed to the scholars of the Hanafi fiqh that they say that the dead cannot hear. That ascription to the Hanafi scholars is not entirely correct. The Hanafi scholars do not believe that the dead cannot hear at all. Some of them draw the distinction that the dead can hear when Allah allows them to hear but not all of the time.

The reason why Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها believed this only for a certain time as Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal narrates a hadeeth where Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها says the same as Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه (hadeeth 688). Thus, this suggests that she retracted her earlier view and accepted what the other companions said. On many occasions, her opinions differed from those of the sahabah. The ulama of Islam whilst respecting her did not always accept her verdicts. They would say that whatever her understanding was, with all due respect to Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها, she was not present on many occasions when the other senior companions were.

Many ulama believe that the dead can hear as there are clear, categorical hadeeth that state the dead can hear such as the ones we have covered. There are other hadith, for example, Imam ibn Abdul Barr relates a sahih hadeeth that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said ‘Whenever someone passes by the grave of a believer that they used to know in the dunya and they say ‘Assalamu alaikum’, Allah returns the spirit (ruh) to the deceased, and he hears the salaam and he actually responds by saying ‘Walaikum salaam’.

There is no sanctity for a corrupt person

Assalamu alaikum, below are the final part of my notes for Lesson 181. You can read the first part here. Lesson 181 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 25th January 2008 and covered hadeeth 686 ad 687.

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Speaking ill of the dead is backbiting. As we know from the ahadeeth that the definition of backbiting is mentioning something of a fellow Muslim in his absence which if he or she came to hear would be hurt by. If it is untrue, then it is slander. It does not matter whether a person is willing to repeat it in front of the one that they have spoken about. It is still backbiting. It is impermissible to backbite anyone who has honour and dignity, and every Muslim has honour and dignity. However, there is a famous saying amongst the fuqahah – ‘There is no sanctity for a corrupt person’. The meaning of this saying is explained as follows; we are all sinful. However, if someone unashamedly reveals their sinful nature and brazenly sins, then a person has relinquished their right to dignity. If a person is an open sinner, then it would be permissible to backbite them. There is no sanctity of a faasiq. One reason for this is so other people can be warned of their vices e.g. if someone is warns a father that the man that wishes to marry their daughter is corrupt. The prohibition of backbiting only applies to the pious and upright believers not those that are open sinners as they have no consideration of their own honour and dignity. This ruling can also be extended to the dead if it serves a practical purpose. For example, if they led a life of sin and evil and they cared not for the laws of Allah and if they failed to honour the teachings of Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم), then Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would deem their honour and dignity to have no sanctity. Thus, in such a circumstance it would be permissible to speak ill of such a deceased. It is of such deceased that the sahabah spoke ill of as we have covered in the hadeeth and also the people at the time of Sayidina Umar (رضى الله عنه).

Having said this, the Shaykh explained further that although it may be permissible to speak ill of those deceased that had no honour and dignity by openly sinning, it is not befitting a Muslim to talk and engage in that kind of gossip all the time. A Muslim should be engaged in the remembrance of Allah rather than always engaged in such talk. However, if someone is a faasiq and others are speaking highly of him and holding him in esteem, then an upright, pious Muslim should establish justice. He should give his testimony and demonstrate that the person should not be praised in this manner. Once, the pious Muslim has done his duty he doesn’t need to keep speaking ill of the sinner. He leaves it at this. Similarly, if a deceased person led a life of corruption and sin, one should not speak about this all the time. But if everyone is calling the person a saint, we can correct the balance and simply make it clear that this person was not an angel.

It is stated in the hadeeth that when someone good dies, then everything mourns his passing including the inanimate creation of Allah as well as the birds and beasts. When a corrupt person dies, then no one mourns the person’s passing and souls are glad and the non-human world is also glad.

In one hadeeth it is stated that when a good person dies, he is relieved of the dunya but when an evil person dies, the dunya is relieved of him.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that if four people praise the deceased and even if two people praise the deceased then Allah will grant the deceased Jannah. This is not absolute and a condition we learn from the hadeeth is that people should know the person. In one hadeeth, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that if a person dies and four of his closest neighbours testify to his goodness, then Allah will grant him jannah. This shows that the people who praise the deceased should know him.

The Shaykh mentioned the relationship that people had people had with the neighbours at the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). People would know everything about their neighbours and the neighbours about them. For example, a person would know whether their neighbour frequented the masjid, what company they kept, and what the family was like and so on. To a certain extent a person even today people will know such things about their neighbours.

Thus, testimonies about the deceased have to be based on some knowledge.

What category and calibre of person is required to provide the testimony? The person giving the testimony should be upright, pious believers themselves. It cannot be the corrupt simply praising the corrupt.

You are Allah’s witness upon the earth primarily applies to the sahabah and after this those that follow in the footsteps of the sahabah.

Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says in a hadeeth that when Allah loves a servant, he summons Jibril and says ‘Oh Jibril! I love this servant of Mine and therefore you love him’. Jibril then announces to the angels in heaven that ‘Allah loves this servant of His and has instructed me to love him also. Allah loves him, I love him so oh assembly of angels you also love him’. Then Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that when those who are in the heavens (i.e. the angels) begin to love a servant of Allah, Allah naturally instills the love of that person in the hearts of His pious servants. Conversely, when Allah despises a person, Allah summons Jibril who informs the angels and then the hatred of that person is instilled in the hearts of the pious servants on earth.

This does not mean that those that are loved by the masses in the dunya are those that are loved by Allah and the angels. The hadeeth refers to ‘His pious servants’ not to everyone in the creation.

May Allah allow us all to leave the dunya in such a way that we are relieved of the dunya rather than the dunya being relieved of us. Ameen!