Visitations from the dead
Fatwa No: 84165

Question

Is there anywhere Qur'an, authentic Hadith or Sunnah that pious souls visit their dear and near ones in this world and that they emit good smell for letting people to know their presence? Also is there any Hadith suggesting that pious souls of prophets and messengers visited Hazrat Muhammad (may peace be upon him)? Please do identify source.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

Encountering the soul and its movement from one place to another and feeling its presence, all this is unseen and transcendental to us, human beings. So, it is wrong to give any rule about it, except by the revelation.
There is nothing that we find in Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) which could prove the mentioned things or disclaim them.
Basically, it is our duty to refrain from looking into this subject and even discussing it, because Allah Almighty has closed it with Saying: (interpretation of meaning): {And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Rûh (the Spirit); Say: "The Rûh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little."} [17:85].
Allah knows best.

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