وَلَئِنْ أَرْسَلْنَا رِيحًا فَرَأَوْهُ مُصْفَرًّا لَظَلُّوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ يَكْفُرُونَ ﴿۵۱﴾ فَإِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَى وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاءَ إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ ﴿۵۲﴾ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِهَادِ الْعُمْيِ عَنْ ضَلَالَتِهِمْ إِنْ تُسْمِعُ إِلَّا مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا فَهُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ ﴿۵۳﴾ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ ضَعْفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةً ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ ضَعْفًا وَشَيْبَةً يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْقَدِيرُ ﴿۵۴﴾

﴾51﴿ Wa la'in arsalnaa reehan fara awhu musfarral lazalloo mim ba'dihee yakfuroon
﴾52﴿ Fa innaka laa tusmi'ul mawtaa wa laa tusmi'us summad du'aaa'a izaa wallaw mudbireen
﴾53﴿ Wa maa anta bihaadil 'umyi 'an dalaalatihim in tusmi'u illaa mai yuminu bi aayaatinaa fahum muslimoon
﴾54﴿ Allahul lazee khalaqa kum min du'fin summa ja'ala mim ba'di du'fin quwwatan summa ja'ala mim ba'di quwwatin du'fanw wa shaibah; yakhluqu maa yashaaa'u wa Huwal 'Aleemul Qadeer

﴾51﴿ And if We send a wind, then they see it turn the crops yellow, afterwards they begin to disbelieve
﴾52﴿ Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when they turn their backs and retreat
﴾53﴿ And you cannot guide the blind out of their error. You can only make those hear who believe in Our signs, and they are the ones who accept the commandments
﴾54﴿ Allah, the Exalted, is the One who created you from weakness, then after weakness, He grants strength, then after strength, He brings about weakness and old age. He creates what He wills, and He is the All-Knowing, All-Powerful

[51] This is a warning—meaning that despite the blessing of rain and crops, if due to their evil deeds a wind of punishment comes upon these crops and they wither and turn yellow, still they do not repent, but rather persist in disbelief.
[52,53] Since the denial of the opponents was mentioned through evidences (in the previous verse), now an objection is being addressed—meaning, if someone objects that their denial is due to a lack of evidence, the answer is given that the evidences are complete and effective, as believers benefit from them. However, in the disbelievers, the hindrance lies within themselves, in that they have rendered all their faculties useless like the dead, or have disabled some of their faculties like the deaf or the blind.
The issue of the dead hearing: (whether the dead hear the words of the living or not). This matter—whether the dead hear the speech of the living—was a point of consensus among some. The opinion of Imam Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) is mentioned in Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah, vol. 13, p. 615, and in Takmilah Sharh al-Muhadhdhab by Nawawi, vol. 18, p. 91. Their evidence is the verse from Surah Fatir: “And you cannot make those in the graves hear.”
Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) is also cited in Al-Kawkab al-Durri, Tafsir Mawahib al-Rahman, vol. 21, p. 60, and Tafhim al-Masa'il, p. 73, holding that the dead do not hear.
Likewise, in the commentary of the verse: Only those who hear will respond, and as for the dead, Allah will resurrect them (Surah Al-An'am, 36), Tafsir al-Khazin, vol. 2, p. 14, and Tafsir al-Naysaburi, vol. 7, p. 137, state that the dead do not hear.
Also, Fath al-Qadir, p. 69, in the book of funerals, states this is the view of most Hanafi scholars. Similarly, Ayni in Umdat al-Qari, vol. 8, p. 202, writes that the dead do not hear.
Shaykh Rashid Ahmad Gangohi wrote that this was the opinion of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). Mulla Ali al-Qari also held this view in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar, p. 159, as did Taftazani in Sharh al-Maqasid, vol. 2, p. 321, along with many other jurists and hadith scholars.
If someone objects that Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) held otherwise due to the Hadith of the well of Badr, this shows there was a difference of opinion among the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them). The answer is that since Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) explained the purpose of that hadith, and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not object, the disagreement was resolved. A second response is that Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) only accepted hearing in that one specific instance. The scholars differ on whether hearing is established only in such specific cases or not.
Most Hanafis and others do not accept even those specific instances literally but interpret them. Some scholars do accept hearing only in specific cases, such as Imam Bukhari and the author of Fath al-Qadir, who believed in hearing the sound of footsteps. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on them) also accepted hearing in specific cases, as did the commentator of Ruh al-Ma‘ani, and Shah Anwar Shah Kashmiri, author of Fayd al-Bari.
There are only three specific instances: 1) hearing the sound of footsteps, 2) the Hadith of Badr—both of these are authentic hadiths, and 3) the hadith about greeting and returning the greeting, but this hadith is not authentic.
Those who believe the dead always hear have no sound proof. Therefore, this belief is an innovation. And if, based on this belief, someone seeks intercession from the dead, it becomes a means toward shirk. If one seeks needs to be fulfilled by the dead, that is outright major shirk.
The evidence that the dead do not hear includes the verses: Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear (Surah An-Naml), So indeed, you cannot make the dead hear (Surah Ar-Rum), and You are not one who can make those in the graves hear (Surah Fatir).
The method of reasoning is that Allah, in these verses, likened the disbelievers (the obstinate ones) to the dead in their inability to hear. (As explicitly stated in the Tafsir of Ibn Jarir under this verse, and by other commentators and the author of Fath al-Qadir as well.) The point of similarity lies in the comparison to something more extreme or more widely known. Hence, it becomes clear that the dead do not hear. This inference is from the indication of the text and is certain, even if the literal wording of the verses refers to the disbelievers.
Note: In the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, many hadiths have been mentioned that indicate the dead can hear. The first response is that none of them are authentic and connected; some of them have been deemed weak in Tafsir Ibn Kathir according to Ruh al-Ma‘ani. The second response is that Shaykh Muhammad Nasib al-Rifa‘i in Mukhtasar Ibn Kathir, vol. 3, p. 445, stated that additional (weak) hadiths have been inserted into the Beirut edition of Ibn Kathir printed by Dar al-Andalus, which are not found in other editions. These hadiths were added independently, and the stature of Ibn Kathir is above such things.
[54] This is another rational proof, and it describes the transformation in human conditions. Its connection to the previous verse is that hearing and guidance are also within the will and power of Allah, just as the transformation of states mentioned in this verse is under Allah's control. “From weakness” refers to the sperm-drop, which is a weak fluid. “After weakness” refers to the weakness of childhood, implying physical frailty. “Strength” means the power of youth. “After strength” refers to the decline in mental and physical ability. “Weakness” here means the weakening of all faculties. “And gray hair” refers to the visible signs of old age, especially the whitening of hair.