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The belief (Aqidah) of the mainstream
Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah is that our beloved Messenger of
Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and all the other
Prophets are alive in their graves.
This life is physical and worldly (dunyawiyyah), and not just a
spiritual one with the sole (barzakhiyyah), as the latter is
common for all the people. They are usually involved in
performing Salat and worshiping Allah (out of their own choice
and not binding on them), and we can normally not see or feel
them.
This was the Aqidah held by the Sunni Muslims throughout the
ages, and many books in Arabic have been written on this
subject. The great Imam Suyuti (Allah have mercy on him)
compiled a whole work on this subject titled ‘Inba al-Azkiya
bi Hayat al-Anbiya’ (Informing the intelligent regarding the
living of the Prophets), in which he quoted many evidences in
support of this belief. Similarly, other scholars such as: Imam
al-Bayhaqi, Imam Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha’rani and Imam Ibn al-Qayyim
in his book ‘al-Ruh (The Soul) have also written and gathered
evidences with regards to this.
Evidences on the prophets remaining alive in their graves:
There are many evidences in the Qur’an, Hadith and sayings of
the predecessors regarding the prophets remaining alive after
death. Some are reproduced here:
1) Allah Most High says:
“And question thou (O Muhammad) our Messengers whom we sent
before you. Did we appoint any deities other that Allah, Mot
gracious, to be worshiped?” (Surah al-Zukhruf, 45).
Many commentators (mufassirun) of the Qur’an have stated in
their respective exegeses that the living of the Prophets can be
proved from this verse (See: Durr al-Manthur of Suyuti, Ruh al-Ma’ani
by al-Alusi and others).
2) Allah Most High says:
“And say not of those who are martyred in the way of Allah,
“they are dead”, nay, they are living, though you perceive
it not” (Surah al-Baqarah, 154).
Regarding this verse, the great Hadith expert (hafidh), Imam Ibn
Hajar al-Asqalani (Allah have mercy on him) states in his
monumental commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, ‘Fath al-Bari’:
“When the living of the martyrs is proven from the text of the
Qur’an, then this is also proven from an analogical point of
view. And the Prophets are superior then the martyrs” (Fath
al-Bari, 6/379).
3) Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him)
narrates: “On the night of Isra, the Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) passed by the grave of Sayyiduna
Musa (Allah bless him), and found him performing Salat in his
grave” (Recorded by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, and others).
4) Anas ibn Malik narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) said: “The Prophets are alive
in their graves performing Salat” (Recorded by al-Bayhaqi in
his ‘Hayat al-Anbiya’ and Abu Ya’la in his Musnad).
The above Hadith has been authenticated by many Hadith scholars,
such as: Ibn Hajar, al-Haythami, Ali al-Qari, al-Munawi, al-Shawkani
and others.
5) Aws ibn Aws narrates the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him
& give him peace) as saying: “Send salutations in
abundance on me on Friday, as your sending salutations are
presented to me. The Companions inquired: “How is it possible
that you receive our salutations when your body will have been
decayed? The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him
peace) said: “Verily Allah has made forbidden on the earth
that it eats the bodies of the Prophets” (Recorded by Abu
Dawud, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Darami and others, and authenticated
by many, such as Ibn al-Qayyim).
6) Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrates
that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him
peace) said: “None of you greets me except that Allah returns
my soul on me until I return his greeting” (Musnad Ahmad,
2/527 and Sunan Abu Dawud, 1/279).
7) Anas ibn Malik narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) said: “The Prophets are not
kept in their graves for more than forty nights, but they remain
worshiping Allah until the trumpet will be blown” (Sunan al-Bayhaqi).
Due to the fact that there are many narrations regarding the
living of the Prophets (of which only a few have been reproduced
as an example), Imam al-Suyuti (Allah have mercy on him) is of
the view that these narrations have reached the level of
certainty (tawatur).
8) The great Hadith master, Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (Allah
have mercy on him) states: “Death will never come to the
blessed Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him
peace) in his grave, rather he will remain alive, due to the
fact that the Prophets remain alive in their graves” (Fath al-Bari,
17/22).
9) Imam al-Subki (Allah have mercy on him) states: “It is from
our beliefs that the Prophets are alive in their graves”. (Tabqat
al-Shafi’iyya al-Kubra, 6/266).
10) The great Hanafi jurist, Allama Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy
on him) says: “The Prophets are alive in their graves, as
proven from the Hadith” (Rasa’il of Ibn Abidin, 2/203).
11) Imam al-Shawkani (whom the Salafis normally refer to)
states: “The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace))
is alive in his grave, as has been established in the Hadith
“The Prophets are alive in their graves”. (See: Nayl al-Awtar,
5/101).
12) Also, one of the major incidents that prove this, is the
incident of Me’raj (Ascension of the Prophet to the heavens),
where he met and conversed with many Prophets. He also led them
in prayer in Masjid al-Aqsa.
The above evidences from the Qur’an, Hadith and the sayings of
the predecessors (salaf) are sufficient to prove the fact that
the Prophets remain alive in their graves after they pass away
from this world. There are many other evidences which we have
not mentioned here, due to the fear of prolonging our
discussion.
This is the reason why this Aqidah has been held by the
mainstream Sunni scholars throughout the eras. It is only
recently that some people have objected to this view.
For more details on this subject in Arabic, one may refer to
Imam Suyuti’s ‘al-Inba’ and Imam al-Bayhaqi’s ‘Hayat
al-Anbiya’.
And Allah knows best
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