Question: While reading a book, I
came across the following h~adi#th:
After he had buried the dead of Quraysh, Muhammad
(sws) turned to their grave and said: O inhabitants of [this grave], we
have found what our Lord promised us to be true, so have you found what
your Lord promised you to be true.
We cannot make the dead hear then how
come the above was said?
Answer: On all such occasions, a supplication
(du‘a#) is not made to make someone
hear it. It is an expression of a particular situation which has arisen,
in this case being an expression of satisfaction and fulfilment of a promise.
This is a common style we employ. A person imagines his addressees in his
mind and has a dialogue with him.*
For example a person who may be hurt by his friends says the following
words in his mind to this friend who may be hundreds of miles away: ‘Rashid
you have really hurt me; I feel disgraced. I pray that Allah guide you
to be a bit more compassionate so that you hear your friend’s version before
passing a verdict against him.’ Now all this conversation is happening
in the person’s mind. He is, of course, not talking to his friend and has
no intention to do so either. It is just a portrayal of what has happened
to him.
Consequently, the words of the Prophet
(sws) recorded in this h~adi#th
are just a portrayal of a certain fact – nothing else. |