How sound is the hadeeth about the parents of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) being brought back to life?

 

How sound is the hadeeth which says that the mother of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was brought back to life and believed in him, then she died?.

Praise be to Allaah.

There is no saheeh hadeeth which says that Allaah, may He be
exalted, brought the parents of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) back to life, and that they believed in him then died.
Rather the saheeh ahaadeeth that have been narrated indicated that they died
in kufr and that they are among the people of Hell. 

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “I asked my Lord for permission to pray for forgiveness for
my mother, but He did not give me permission; I asked Him for permission to
visit her grave, and He gave me permission.” Narrated by Muslim, 976. 

It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that a man said: “O Messenger of Allaah, where is my father?” He
said: “In the Fire.” When he turned away, he called him back and said: “My
father and your father are in the Fire.” Narrated by Muslim, 203. 

Another indication that these ahaadeeth are not saheeh is the
fact that if this had indeed happened, it would have been well-known,
because it would be one of the great signs of Allaah, and there would be
strong motives for transmitting it. 

The scholars have ruled that these ahaadeeth are fabricated
and false. 

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) led us on Hajj during the Farewell Pilgrimage and he passed by me
at ‘Aqabat al-Hujoon and he was distressed and weeping. I wept because the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
weeping, then he dismounted and said: “O Humayra’, hold the camel.” He
stayed away from me for a long time, then he came back to me and he was
smiling joyfully. I said to him: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for
you, O Messenger of Allaah. You left me and you were grieving, and I wept
because you were weeping, then you came back to me smiling joyfully. Why is
that, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “I went to the grave of my mother
Aaminah and asked Allaah to bring her back to life, so He brought her back
to life, then she believed in me, then Allaah sent her back.” 

This was narrated by Ibn Shaheen in al-Naasikh
wa’l-Mansookh, and by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi in al-Saabiq
wa’l-Laahiq – as stated by al-Suyooti in al-Haawi, 2/440 

Ibn al-Jawzi said: 

This is undoubtedly a
fabricated (mawdoo’) hadeeth, and the one who fabricated it has little
understanding and is lacking in knowledge. If he had any knowledge he would
have known that whoever dies as a kaafir, it will not benefit him to believe
after being brought back to life. Even if he believes when he sees (the
truth) with his own eyes, it will not benefit him.  

It is sufficient to refute this hadeeth by remembering the
words of Allaah, may He be exalted, in the verse (interpretation of the
meaning): “and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this
life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They
will abide therein forever” [al-Baqarah 2:217]. And the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I asked my Lord for
permission to pray for forgiveness for my mother, but He did not give me
permission.” Some people used to fabricate ahaadeeth and insert them into
the books of the negligent, who would then narrate them. Our Shaykh,
Abu’l-Fadl ibn Naasir, said: This is a fabricated hadeeth. The mother of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died in
al-Abwa’, between Makkah and Madeenah, and was buried there, not in
al-Hajoon. End quote. 

Al-Mawdoo’aat, 1/283 

Al-Hajoon is a place in Makkah. 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

With regard to the
hadeeth mentioned by al-Suhayli, in its isnaad he mentioned men who are
unknown (majhool) until it reaches Abu’l-Zanaad from ‘Urwah from ‘Aa’ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked his Lord to bring his parents
back to life, so He brought them back to life and they believed in him –
this is a very false hadeeth (munkar jiddan). Even though it is possible and
within the powers of Allaah, what is proven in the sound ahaadeeth
contradicts it. End quote. 

Al-Bidaayah, 2/261 

Mulla ‘Ali al-Qaari says concerning this hadeeth: 

It is mawdoo’
(fabricated), as Ibn Dihyah said; I have written a separate chapter
concerning this matter. End quote. 

Al-Asraar al-Marfoo’ah fi’l-Akhbaar al-Mawdoo’ah,
p. 83. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
was asked: Is there any saheeh report from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) which says that Allaah, may He be blessed
and exalted, brought his parents back to life so that they could become
Muslim at his hands, then they died after that? 

He replied: 

None of the scholars of hadeeth classed any such report as
saheeh, rather the people of knowledge are unanimously agreed that that is a
fabricated lie. Although Abu Bakr al-Khateeb narrated something concerning
that in his book al-Saabiq wa’l-Laahiq, and it was mentioned by
Abu’l-Qaasim al-Suhayli in Sharh al-Seerah with an isnaad that
contains unknown men (majhool), and it was mentioned by Abu ‘Abd-Allaah
al-Qurtubi in al-Tadhkirah and elsewhere, there is no dispute among
the scholars that it is one of the most obviously false of fabricated
reports, as the scholars have stated. It is not to be found in any of the
reliable books of hadeeth, neither in al-Saheeh or al-Sunan or
al-Musnad, or other well-known books of hadeeth. It was not mentioned
by the authors of books of Maghaazi and Tafseer, even though they used to
narrate da’eef (weak) reports along with saheeh ones, because it is obvious
to any religiously-committed person that this is a lie. If such a thing had
happened it would have received a great deal of attention and there would
have been strong motives for transmitting it, for it would have been one of
the most extraordinary events in two ways: the revival of the dead, and
belief after death. So it would have deserved to be transmitted more than
other reports, but because it was not transmitted by any of the trustworthy
narrators, it is obviously a lie. 

Moreover this goes against the Qur’aan and saheeh Sunnah, as
well as scholarly consensus. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Allaah accepts only the repentance of those who do evil
in ignorance and foolishness and repent soon afterwards; it is they whom
Allaah will forgive and Allaah is Ever All‑Knower, All‑Wise”

[al-Nisa’ 4:17] 

“And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue
to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent’;
nor of those who die while they are disbelievers”

[al-Nisa’ 4:18] 

Allaah states that there is no repentance for the one who
dies a kaafir: 

“Then their Faith (in Islamic Monotheism) could not avail
them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allaah in
dealing with His slaves. And there the disbelievers lost utterly (when Our
Torment covered them)”

[Ghaafir 40:85] 

Allaah tells us that His
way in dealing with His slaves is that faith will be to no avail after they
have seen His punishment, so how about after death? And there are similar
texts. 

End quote from Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 4/325 

Some of the Sufis cannot
verify these ahaadeeth according to the principles of hadeeth, so they
verify them according to inspiration! 

Al-Bayjoori says: 

Perhaps this hadeeth – the hadeeh about the parents of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) being brought back
to life and believing in him and then dying – is saheeh according to the
holy men by means of inspiration.” End quote. 

Jawharat al-Tawheed, p. 30 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, refuting such notions: 

Most of these people, if
they are confronted with the falseness of what they are saying, say
something like the Christians do: This is a matter that is above reason!
Some of them say: Things that go against common sense are proven to us by
means of inspiration. End quote.

 Al-Jawaab al-Saheeh,
2/92 

And Allaah knows best.