How sound is the hadeeth about the parents of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) being brought back to life?
Question

                How sound is the hadeeth which says that the mother of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was brought back to life and believed in him, then she died?.
Praise be to Allah.
    There is no saheeh hadeeth which says that Allaah, may He be 
    exalted, brought the parents of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) back to life, and that they believed in him then died. 
    Rather the saheeh ahaadeeth that have been narrated indicated that they died 
    in kufr and that they are among the people of Hell. 

    It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with 
    him) said: The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him) said: “I asked my Lord for permission to pray for forgiveness for 
    my mother, but He did not give me permission; I asked Him for permission to 
    visit her grave, and He gave me permission.” Narrated by Muslim, 976. 

    It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased 
    with him) that a man said: “O Messenger of Allaah, where is my father?” He 
    said: “In the Fire.” When he turned away, he called him back and said: “My 
    father and your father are in the Fire.” Narrated by Muslim, 203. 

    Another indication that these ahaadeeth are not saheeh is the 
    fact that if this had indeed happened, it would have been well-known, 
    because it would be one of the great signs of Allaah, and there would be 
    strong motives for transmitting it. 

    The scholars have ruled that these ahaadeeth are fabricated 
    and false. 

    It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with 
    her) said: The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him) led us on Hajj during the Farewell Pilgrimage and he passed by me 
    at ‘Aqabat al-Hujoon and he was distressed and weeping. I wept because the 
    Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was 
    weeping, then he dismounted and said: “O Humayra’, hold the camel.” He 
    stayed away from me for a long time, then he came back to me and he was 
    smiling joyfully. I said to him: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for 
    you, O Messenger of Allaah. You left me and you were grieving, and I wept 
    because you were weeping, then you came back to me smiling joyfully. Why is 
    that, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “I went to the grave of my mother 
    Aaminah and asked Allaah to bring her back to life, so He brought her back 
    to life, then she believed in me, then Allaah sent her back.” 

    This was narrated by Ibn Shaheen in al-Naasikh 
    wa’l-Mansookh, and by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi in al-Saabiq 
    wa’l-Laahiq – as stated by al-Suyooti in al-Haawi, 2/440 

    Ibn al-Jawzi said: 
This is undoubtedly a 
    fabricated (mawdoo’) hadeeth, and the one who fabricated it has little 
    understanding and is lacking in knowledge. If he had any knowledge he would 
    have known that whoever dies as a kaafir, it will not benefit him to believe 
    after being brought back to life. Even if he believes when he sees (the 
    truth) with his own eyes, it will not benefit him.  

    It is sufficient to refute this hadeeth by remembering the 
    words of Allaah, may He be exalted, in the verse (interpretation of the 
    meaning): “and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this 
    life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They 
    will abide therein forever” [al-Baqarah 2:217]. And the Prophet  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I asked my Lord for 
    permission to pray for forgiveness for my mother, but He did not give me 
    permission.” Some people used to fabricate ahaadeeth and insert them into 
    the books of the negligent, who would then narrate them. Our Shaykh, 
    Abu’l-Fadl ibn Naasir, said: This is a fabricated hadeeth. The mother of the 
    Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died in 
    al-Abwa’, between Makkah and Madeenah, and was buried there, not in 
    al-Hajoon. End quote. 

    Al-Mawdoo’aat, 1/283 

    Al-Hajoon is a place in Makkah. 

    Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 
With regard to the 
    hadeeth mentioned by al-Suhayli, in its isnaad he mentioned men who are 
    unknown (majhool) until it reaches Abu’l-Zanaad from ‘Urwah from ‘Aa’ishah 
    (may Allaah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked his Lord to bring his parents 
    back to life, so He brought them back to life and they believed in him – 
    this is a very false hadeeth (munkar jiddan). Even though it is possible and 
    within the powers of Allaah, what is proven in the sound ahaadeeth 
    contradicts it. End quote. 

    Al-Bidaayah, 2/261 

    Mulla ‘Ali al-Qaari says concerning this hadeeth: 
It is mawdoo’ 
    (fabricated), as Ibn Dihyah said; I have written a separate chapter 
    concerning this matter. End quote. 

    Al-Asraar al-Marfoo’ah fi’l-Akhbaar al-Mawdoo’ah, 
    p. 83. 

    Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) 
    was asked: Is there any saheeh report from the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) which says that Allaah, may He be blessed 
    and exalted, brought his parents back to life so that they could become 
    Muslim at his hands, then they died after that? 

    He replied: 

    None of the scholars of hadeeth classed any such report as 
    saheeh, rather the people of knowledge are unanimously agreed that that is a 
    fabricated lie. Although Abu Bakr al-Khateeb narrated something concerning 
    that in his book al-Saabiq wa’l-Laahiq, and it was mentioned by 
    Abu’l-Qaasim al-Suhayli in Sharh al-Seerah with an isnaad that 
    contains unknown men (majhool), and it was mentioned by Abu ‘Abd-Allaah 
    al-Qurtubi in al-Tadhkirah and elsewhere, there is no dispute among 
    the scholars that it is one of the most obviously false of fabricated 
    reports, as the scholars have stated. It is not to be found in any of the 
    reliable books of hadeeth, neither in al-Saheeh or al-Sunan or
    al-Musnad, or other well-known books of hadeeth. It was not mentioned 
    by the authors of books of Maghaazi and Tafseer, even though they used to 
    narrate da’eef (weak) reports along with saheeh ones, because it is obvious 
    to any religiously-committed person that this is a lie. If such a thing had 
    happened it would have received a great deal of attention and there would 
    have been strong motives for transmitting it, for it would have been one of 
    the most extraordinary events in two ways: the revival of the dead, and 
    belief after death. So it would have deserved to be transmitted more than 
    other reports, but because it was not transmitted by any of the trustworthy 
    narrators, it is obviously a lie. 

    Moreover this goes against the Qur’aan and saheeh Sunnah, as 
    well as scholarly consensus. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “Allaah accepts only the repentance of those who do evil 
    in ignorance and foolishness and repent soon afterwards; it is they whom 
    Allaah will forgive and Allaah is Ever All‑Knower, All‑Wise”

    [al-Nisa’ 4:17]

    “And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue 
    to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent’; 
    nor of those who die while they are disbelievers”

    [al-Nisa’ 4:18]

    Allaah states that there is no repentance for the one who 
    dies a kaafir: 

    “Then their Faith (in Islamic Monotheism) could not avail 
    them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allaah in 
    dealing with His slaves. And there the disbelievers lost utterly (when Our 
    Torment covered them)”

    [Ghaafir 40:85]
Allaah tells us that His 
    way in dealing with His slaves is that faith will be to no avail after they 
    have seen His punishment, so how about after death? And there are similar 
    texts. 

    End quote from Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 4/325 
Some of the Sufis cannot 
    verify these ahaadeeth according to the principles of hadeeth, so they 
    verify them according to inspiration! 

    Al-Bayjoori says: 

    Perhaps this hadeeth – the hadeeh about the parents of the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) being brought back 
    to life and believing in him and then dying – is saheeh according to the 
    holy men by means of inspiration.” End quote. 

    Jawharat al-Tawheed, p. 30 
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn 
    Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, refuting such notions: 
Most of these people, if 
    they are confronted with the falseness of what they are saying, say 
    something like the Christians do: This is a matter that is above reason! 
    Some of them say: Things that go against common sense are proven to us by 
    means of inspiration. End quote.

    Al-Jawaab al-Saheeh, 
    2/92 

    And Allaah knows best.