Q. Do the dead hear the address of the living?
A. In Sahih Bukhari: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) ordered that the bodies of the idolaters slain on the day of Badr be thrown into a well whose interior was encased with stones, then he approached the well and began addressing the unbelievers by their names and fathers’ names, saying: “O So-and-so son of So-and-so, and So-and-so son of So-and-so: it would have been easier if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger. We have found what our Lord promised to be true; have you found what your Lord promised to be true?” To which `Umar said: “O Messenger of Allah, why speak to lifeless bodies?” And he replied: “By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, you do not hear my words better than they do.” [In Muslim: “By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, you do not hear my words better than they do, only they are unable to answer.”]
