Asking the deceased for Forgiveness

Question:

Can you please assist me with the following question. Recently we had a female deceased here. After the lady passed away one female said to the family of this lady that you all must forgive the deceased by saying the following in front of the corpse “We forgive you for all which transpired between us” because the deceased hears everything what we say.
(Mahmood Dana)

Ans:
It is better to ask the relatives and acquaintances of a deceased person to forgive him if there was any excess committed by him towards them, but they should not be asked to address the deceased person in a manner you have described in your question. Everybody can forgive him on his own. It is also incorrect to say that if the deceased person is addressed in this manner he will definitely hear what is said to him. The question whether or not the deceased persons hear the voices of those who address them is a debatable issue and the correct position is that it is for Allah if He wills to make a dead person to hear something, he can hear otherwise cannot. 

Rabi-ul-Thani-1426