Is speech directed to a person who is asleep, unconscious, deaf, or too distant to hear, subject to an oath concerning speech?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If a husband speaks to his wife while she is asleep, overcome by loss of reason due to fainting or madness such that she cannot hear, or if she is so distant that she cannot hear his speech, or if she is deaf and cannot understand or hear his speech, the oath is not breached. Similarly, if he swore not to speak to a specific person and speaks to them after they have died, the oath is not breached.
Supporting text
Abu Bakr held that the oath is breached in all these situations, based on the Companions' statement regarding speaking to bodies without souls. The primary view holds that speech requires the utterance to affect the recipient, which necessitates hearing. The Prophet's speaking to the dead was a miracle specific to him, as indicated by his statement, 'You do not hear what I say better than they do,' and the Companions' statement serves as evidence for the general rule that speech must be heard.