Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

dear brother

assalamo alaikum

my questions to you is:

when we visit our loved ones in the grave, when we talk can they(the dead) hear us?

do the ruh visits their houses, back home in india they put agarbati during maghrib hours and people believe the ruh comes........... pls. clarify such things are there.

what should a child pray for his/her parents? it is always the parents pray for their kids so in return what should a child do for the parents when they are alive or dead

thanks

a sister

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can the dead hear

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Questions: when we visit our loved ones in the grave, when we talk can they(the dead) hear us?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah Fatir verse 22:

22 Nor are alike those that are living and those that are dead. Allah can make any that He wills to hear; but thou canst not make those to hear who are (buried) in graves.

Those buried in their graves do not have the power to hear the invocations of the alive, nor do those who are alive have the power to make heard their invocations to the dead.

If Allah Subhanah Wills and Pleases, He can make any being, dead or alive, to hear what He wills them to hear.

Your Questions: do the ruh visits their houses, back home in india they put agarbati during maghrib hours and people believe the ruh comes........... pls. clarify such things are there.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 42:

42 It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death: and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the Decree of death He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 99-100:

99 (In falsehood the disbelievers will remain) until when death comes to one of them (and he sees the Reality), he says: "O my Lord! Send me back (to life)

100 In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." By no means! It is but a word he says; before them is ‘Barzakh’ (an unpenetrable Partition) till the Day they are raised up.

In light of the above absolutely clear guidance of the Glorious Quran, the souls of those who taste death are deposited by Allah Subhanah in the ‘Barzakh’, which is an absolutely unpenetrable Partition; and the dead will only be raised again on the Day of Judgment.

No human being who is alive can access or correspond with the souls which are deposited in the Barzakh by Allah Subhanah; nor can any deceased soul access or correspond with those who are alive.

If some ignorant people believe that souls of the deceased visit their homes, or descend during some hours of the day or night, etc.; then it is obvious that this is their whim and conjecture alone which has absolutely nothing to do with the reality or fact.

Your Question: what should a child pray for his/her parents? it is always the parents pray for their kids so in return what should a child do for the parents when they are alive or dead

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verses 23-24:

23 Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor.

24 And out of kindness lower to them thy wing of humility, and pray: "O my Lord! Bestow on them Thy Mercy, even as they cherished me in (my) childhood."

When one’s parents are alive, Allah Subhanah has Commanded the believers to never ever even utter one word of contempt towards them, never ever to repel them, but always address them in absolute and abject tenderness and honor….so much so that one absolutely humiliates themselves towards their parents just as a bird perched high comes to the ground and lowers its wings in humility….and the best supplication one can and should always make for one’s parents is to beg and beseech the Lord to bestow His infinite Mercies upon them, just as one’s own parents bestowed mercy upon their off-spring when they were in their infancy and childhood.

When one’s believing parents or believing loved ones are dead, one may make any of the following supplications which were made by the Messenger of Allah (saws):

1. Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws) prayed thus on the deceased: "Oh Allah ! You are her Sustainer, You are her Creator, You provided her with sustenance, guided her to Islam, caused her to die, and You best know her secret and public life. We plead to You on her behalf to forgive her her sins."

2. Wa'ilah ibn al-Asqa reported that the Prophet (saws) prayed thus on the deceased: 'O Allah! So-and-so, the son of so-and-so, is under Your Protection and Mercy, so protect him from the trial of the grave and the torture of Hell Fire. You are the guardian of the truthful and the faithful. O Allah! Forgive him and be merciful to him, as You are the Most Merciful, Most Forgiving'." (Related by Ahmad and Abu Daw'ud.)

3. 'Awf ibn Malik reported that the Prophet (saws) prayed thus on the deceased: 'O Allah! Forgive him, have mercy on him, pardon him, heal him, be generous to him, cause his entrance to be wide and comfortable, wash him with the most pure and clean water, and purify him from sins as a white garment is washed clean of dirt. Give him in exchange a home better than his home (on earth) and a family better than his family, and a wife better than his wife, and protect him from the trial of the grave and the torture of Hell Fire'. (Related by Muslim)

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan