Ibn Qayyim dedicates an entire chapter to this. He concludes that the deceased can hear the living in specific circumstances (e.g., when addressed directly at the grave after burial), but not in an absolute, continuous manner. He warns against the Sufi practice of calling upon the dead for help, which he considers major shirk.
The most reliable English translation is: Kitab Ar-ruh English Pdf
: Full academic translations are less common than abridged versions. Look for versions translated by Ismail Abdus Salaam or summaries that capture the 21 primary questions. Ibn Qayyim dedicates an entire chapter to this
Around the mid-2000s, a rumor spread across Islamic forums like IslamicBoard , Ummah.com , and Reddit’s r/islam : “Someone has translated Kitab ar-Ruh into English. There’s a PDF floating around.” The most reliable English translation is: : Full
However, the old, flawed PDF never fully vanished. It remained in shadow libraries, a cautionary tale: “Don’t rely on the free PDF—buy the verified translation.”