English Translation of Al-Quran
[39].Surah Al-Zumar [The Groups]
Ayat 50. Verily, those before them said it, yet (all) that they had earned availed them not.
Ayat 51. So, the evil results of that which they earned overtook them. And those who did wrong of these [pagans of Makkah], will also be overtaken by the evil results (torment) for that which they earned, and they will never be able to escape.
Tafseer of Surah Al Zumar Ayat 50. Thus did the (generations) before them say! But all that they did was of no profit to them. Ayat 51. Nay, the evil results of their Deeds overtook them. And the wrong-doers of this (generation)- the evil results of their Deeds will soon overtake them (too), and they will never be able to frustrate (Our Plan)! Cf. 16:34. It is the same story through the ages. People laugh at Truth, persecute Truth, and try to destroy Truth. But Allah’s Plan is never to be frustrated. It will be carried out, and only the enemies of Truth will accomplish their own undoing. So it happened in Arabia: so will it happen always and everywhere.
English Translation of Hadith
Hazrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) said, “Whenever someone greets me, Allah returns the soul to my body (in the grave) and I return his greeting.”
[Sunan Abu Dawud Hadith # 2041].
Lesson: We learn from this Hadith that the Prophet ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) is alive in his grave and he answers the salutation offered by a Muslim. But this life of his is the life of Barzakh (an intervening state between death and the Day of Resurrection, and whoever dies, enters it) the reality of which is not known to us. Thus, it is wrong to say that the life of the Prophet [SAWW](PBUH) is like worldly life or more vigorous than it. Such a claim is baseless because it is not confirmed by the Qur’an and Hadith. Were he to be alive the way he was in his lifetime, there would have been no need for “the returning of the soul to his body” and he would be able to answer the salutations without it. As far this ambiguity is concerned, when countless Muslims are always offering salutations to the Prophet ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) , how does the return of the soul take place after such short intervals? Such questions arise due to the lack of certitude in the Omnipotence of Allah. When the Prophet ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) stated that his soul is returned to him then we should have absolute faith in his statement because Allah is Capable of doing everything. What is its nature and form, it is not known to us, nor can we know it. Thus, the question of the return of the soul in the grave should be considered similar to the ambiguous Ayat of the Qur’an in which every Muslim is required to have blind faith but their secret is known to Allah Alone. This Hadith has an inducement for offering more and more supplications for the Prophet ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) so that the devotee is blessed with the maximum reward in the form of the Prophet’s ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) response to his salutations. It is certainly a great blessing which a Muslim should try every nerve to achieve.
