so when the third day came, he called for his mount, secured its saddle and set it in motion, then walked on, followed by his Companions. They said: ‘We think he is only going to attend to some need.’ He continued until he stood at the edge of the well, then began calling them by their names and their fathers’ names: ‘O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would you be glad if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger? We have indeed found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised you to be true?’

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you are only speaking to bodies with no souls in them.’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied: ‘By Him in Whose hand is my soul, you hear what I say no better than they do.’”

Qatādah said: “Allah brought them to life so that they heard, to rebuke and humiliate them, to punish them and cause them anguish and remorse.”

‘Ā’ishah interpreted the matter she mentioned, just as she interpreted other similar matters. An authentic statement from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, takes precedence over the interpretation of any of his Companions or anyone else. Nothing in the Quran negates this, for His words,

“You cannot make the dead hear,”

refer only to the ordinary hearing that benefits the hearer. This is a comparison drawn for the disbelievers: they hear sounds, but they do not listen with acceptance, understanding and obedience. As the Most High says:

“The example of those who disbelieve is like that of one who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries.”

Likewise, it does not follow that all ordinary hearing—all forms of hearing—must be ruled out for the dead used in this comparison, just as this was not ruled out for the disbelievers. Rather, what is absent in their case is the ordinary hearing from which they would benefit; other hearing is not ruled out for them.