The life of the righteous in their graves is the life of al-barzakh and no one knows how it really is except Allah

Praise
be to Allah.

Firstly: 

It was narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2890), al-Bayhaqi in ash-Shu‘ab
(2280); at-Tabaraani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (12801), and Abu Nu‘aym
in al-Hilyah (3/81) via Yahya ibn ‘Amr ibn Maalik an-Nukri, from his
father, from Abu’l-Jawza’, from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him),
that he said: One of the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) set up his tent on a grave, and he did not realize that
it was a grave. Then to his surprise he heard a man inside it reciting
Soorat al-Mulk to the end of the soorah. He went to the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I set up my
tent on a grave, and I did not realize that it was a grave, and then to my
surprise I heard someone inside it reciting Soorat al-Mulk to the end of the
soorah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “It is the protector, it is the saver, it will save him from the
punishment of the grave.” 

Al-Bayhaqi said: This was narrated only by Yahya ibn ‘Amr,
and he is not qawiy (strong). End quote. 

This Yahya was described by Ibn Ma‘een, Abu Zar‘ah, Abu
Dawood, an-Nasaa’i and ad-Doolabi as da‘eef (weak). Al-‘Uqayli said: His
hadeeth is not be followed. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: He is not anything. As-Saaji
said: His hadeeth is to be rejected.

Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb,
11/260 

His father, ‘Amr ibn Maalik an-Nukri was mentioned by Ibn
Hibbaan in ath-Thiqaat, where he said: His hadeeth, apart from those that
were narrated by his son from him, are regarded as odd. 

Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb,
8/96 

This hadeeth is da‘eef and cannot be quoted as evidence. It
was classed as da‘eef by al-Bayhaqi, as stated above. It was also classed as
da‘eef by al-Albaani in Da‘eef Sunan at-Tirmidhi. Al-Mubaarakfoori (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad includes Yahya ibn ‘Amr ibn Maalik,
who is da‘eef.

End quote from Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 8/161 

With regard to the words “It is the protector, it is the
saver, it will save him from the punishment of the grave”, they are narrated
in a sound report as being the words of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him), as was narrated and classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and
adh-Dhahabi agreed with him. 

Secondly: 

The close friends of Allah, the Prophets, the martyrs and the
righteous, are alive in their graves in the sense of the life of al-barzakh,
which is not like our lives in this world. We cannot give likenesses in an
attempt to understand how it is; rather its real nature is known only to
Allah. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
said: 

The life of the Prophets, martyrs and the rest of the
righteous (in their graves) is the life of al-barzakh, the real nature of
which no one knows except Allah. It is not like the life they had in this
world.

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, vol. 1
(1/173-174). 

See also the answer to question no.
148285

Thirdly: 

There is no proven shar‘i text to indicate that the righteous
read Qur’an in their graves, so it is not permissible to say that without
knowledge. What some people say about dreams concerning that, or that they
passed by So and so in his grave and he was reciting Qur’an, and so on,
cannot be taken as proof; it cannot be regarded as proof even if it is true.
But perhaps the person who says it is lying or maybe he is imagining
something that did not happen, or maybe the Shaytaan showed him that in his
dream, so as to confuse him and other people. With regard to the life in al-Barzakh,
as we stated above, no one knows its real nature except Allah. 

Fourthly: 

The basic principle is that the dead cannot hear the words of
the living, just as the living do not know anything about the situation of
the dead except that concerning which texts have been narrated, because the
life in al-barzakh is a matter of the unseen, which no one knows except
Allah. 

You can pass by the graves of the mushrikeen and not feel
that anyone is there or hear any sound from them, when in fact they are
being punished in their graves. 

A righteous Muslim man may be buried next to a wrongdoer, and
Allah may have mercy on the righteous man and make his grave spacious for
him and illuminate it for him, and it may be like one of the gardens of
Paradise for him, whereas He punishes the wrongdoer, makes his grave
constricted for him and then it may be like one of the ditches of hellfire
for him, but their conditions will not be mixed (even though their graves
are next to one another) and no one will be aware of either of them. 

As to whether they can hear and know about things in this
world, like the living, this is pure falsehood, and there is no evidence for
it in any text or from the point of view of rational thinking. Even more
false and misguided is the view of one who says that they can hear and
respond. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
said: 

The dead in general, including the Prophets (peace be upon
them) cannot hear those who call them in the sense of responding. They
cannot answer the one who calls upon them or comply with whatever he tells
them or forbids them to do. This is something that Allah has stated does not
happen, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, you cannot
make the dead to hear” [an-Naml 27:80]. With regard to what is mentioned
in as-Saheehayn about the deceased when he is placed into his grave,
and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He can
hear the sound of their sandals when they turn to leave him”; and what the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to the slain
mushrikeen on the day of Badr when they were dragged and thrown into the
dried well of Badr, and he said to them: “Have you found what your Lord
promised you to be true?” and he said: “They can hear what I am saying now”;
and like the deceased’s hearing the two angels when he is placed in his
grave and they ask him about his religion and his Prophet etc; and other
things that are narrated in the shar‘i texts, that is the hearing of al-barzakh,
and Allah knows best what its real nature is. The deceased cannot hear all
the time; rather it is only at these particular times, and his hearing is
not like his hearing in the life of this world; rather it is particular to
the circumstances of al-barzakh, and no one knows how it really is except
Allah. This hearing does not result in any benefit for the deceased or any
harm for the living, because no one has power over that except Allah, may He
be glorified. As for what is narrated about the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) saying: “No one sends greetings of salaam upon me but
Allah will restore to me my soul so that I may return his greeting of
salaam,” that is something that is unique to him (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) and that does not result in the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) benefitting or harming the living person who
does that, apart from the reward that Allah, may He be glorified, bestows
upon the one who sends blessings and peace upon the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him). And one should not ask of him (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) when he is in his grave anything that was asked
of him in this world of meeting needs and solving problems, because the
Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) did not ask any such thing of him,
because they knew that it is not permissible.

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, vol. 2
(2/456-457). 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The deceased cannot hear if he is called upon or invoked in
such a way as to respond to the one who calls upon him. This is what is
meant by the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, you cannot
make the dead to hear” [an-Naml 27:80].

End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen. 

For more information, please see the answers to questions no.
128322 and 153666

Fifthly: 

These sects of Sufis and Bareilawis are far away from the
path of Prophethood, and are innovating sects that go against the teachings
and Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the
path of the righteous early generations. 

For more information on the Sufis and our attitude towards
them, please see the answer to question no. 118693.
For more information on the Bareilawis and their beliefs, please see the
answer to question no. 1487.

And Allah knows best.