Characteristics of Soul after Death as Viewed by Salafism

Salafists and Wahabis have not offered a special definition of soul. It was only Ibn Qayyim who defined soul as a luminous object. All Salafists and Wahabis maintain that soul is alive after death and that the souls of true believers and martyrs shall be in Paradise and they will be reunited with the bodies as and when God wills. Most of the Salafists hold that the dead hear the salam extended to them, and have knowledge of those who visit them. That is because a greeting is extended to someone who has knowledge and perception. However, some other Wahabi scholars like Albāni believe that the dead do not hear the greetings. As well, when it comes to the sawab of reciting the Quran, most Salafists including Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim say that the dead will be benefited by the recitation of the Quran. On the contrary, some others including Ibn al-Uthaymeen and Albāni assert that the reward of the recitation of the Quran will not reach the dead and that this practice is basically a bid'ah (innovation).