Seeking the Prophet's Aid and Supplicating Him

Question :

Is the Prophet alive in his grave leading corporeal life, or a Barzakh life that is void of duties and obligatory functions; for the Prophet said at the point of death:
"O Allah, let join the Supreme Company"

Or his honorable body lies in the grave while his soul is in the Supreme sphere pending the Day of Resurrection to join his body?

Answer :

Our Prophet, Muhammad is alive in his grave leading a Barzakh life enjoying therein the pleasure on account of what he had accomplished in this world. His soul however, does not join his body in order to lead a life like that before his death, nor does it join his body to lead a life like that of the world-to-come. It is rather a Barzakh life, which is in between the past, and the future life. Hence it is known that he died just like the Prophets and the other humans who died before him. Allah, the Exalted says:
"And We have not granted eternal life to a human before; then is it that when you die they live for ever?"
And He says:
"All that is on it will perish, and there will remain the Face of your Lord, the Possessor of majesty and nobility.And He says:
" You certainly will died and they will too" .
All of the above along with a host of other textual proofs indicate that the Prophet is dead. Besides, His Companions washed him, performed funeral prayer for him and buried him. Were he to be leading a life such as ours, they would not have buried him as other dead people are buried.

Moreover, Fatimah, his daughter, may Allah be pleased with her, requested a share of her father's estate because she was certain that he died just as the Companions were certain of that fact. But Abu Bakr told her that the Prophet are not to be inherited from, and because the Companions were unanimously agreed to choose Abu Bakr as a caliph after him. Were the Prophet to be alive, they would not have selected a caliph after him. This means that they were at unison with regard to his death.

On the other hand, many afflictions took place before and during the reign of both 'Uthman and 'Ali and afterwards, and yet they never went to his grave to consult or seek his advice or solution. Were he to be alive as he was before his death, they would have definitely consulted him for their dire need of someone to lead them out of their afflictions.

Question:

Does the Prophet hear those who supplicate him by his grave, or the salutation that are recited as indicated by the Hadith in which he said:
"He who supplicates for me by my grave I hear him»?Is this Hadith authentic, weak or fabricated?

Answer:

Normally, dead people do not hear the living humans, or their supplications. Allah says:
" Nor do you make those in the graves hear" .
Neither the Book nor the authentic Sunnah provides a proof to the contrary. It is authentically proven however that only the salutations of those who salute do reach him. It is alike whether they happen to be by his grave or elsewhere. It is reported that once the great-grandson of 'Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them, saw a man enter an enclosure beside the grave of the Prophet and supplicated. He forbade him to do so, and said to him: Shall I tell what I heard my father saying that my grandfather, the Prophet said:
"Do not hold my grave as a ritual site. Nor turn your homes into graveyards, and ask Allah to exalt my mention, for your salutations reach me wherever you may be.

As for the Hadith:
"He who supplicates for me by my grave I hear him.
It is a weak Hadith. As for the Hadith recorded by Abu Dawud with a Hasan chain of narration from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him:
"Whenever anyone salutes me, Allah returns my soul back to me so that I return his salutation.

It does not clearly connote that he hears the one who is saluting him. Rather it is possible that the Prophet responds to the salutation when the angels convey it to him. Even if we suppose that he hears the salutation, but this does not necessarily mean that he hears the supplications and other utterances.

Question:

Calling and supplicating to the Prophet during each and every need, and seeking his aid during afflictions and suffering near his noble grave, or far away from it; is this a form of vile Shirk or not?

Answer:

Supplicating to the Prophet, calling upon him, and seeking his aid after his death, to help with one's needs and remove discomort is major Shirk which removes one from the religion of Islam. This is so whether that was done at his grave or far away from it. This is like saying, "O Messenger of Allah cure me," or "return what I have lost," etc.

Question:

What is the best form of salutation to recite by the Prophet's grave, meaning As-salatu was-salamu alaika ya Rasoolallah,
or
اللهم صل على محمدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad. And is the Prophet looking at a person who salutes him at his noble grave? And has the Prophet stretched out his noble hand from his grave to return the greeting of any of the honorable Companions or noble Awliya"?

Answer:

A. According to what we know, there is nothing reported from the Prophet mentioning a particular wording for prayers and salutations that should be said to him at his grave. So it is permissible to say when visiting him, "As- salatu was-salamu 'alayka ya Rasoolallah" whatever one wishes to say similar to this may be said, and it is permissible to salute him with the Ibrahimite salutation, saying, “Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad..."

B. It is not reported in the Book nor in the authentic Sunnah that the Prophet sees those who visit his grave, and the rule is that the dead do not see unless there is an evidence from the Book or the Sunnah to the contrary.

C. Another rule regarding the dead - a Prophet or otherwise - is that they do not move in their graves to extend a hand or the like. So what they say about the Prophet that he extends his hand toward some of those who greet him and says, "Extend your hand so that I may embrace it" is not correct, rather it is false, there being no foundation for it in what is correct.

Source:
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 1 Pages 103- 104-105-106-107