Part 14: Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) See Allāh with his Eyes or his Heart? ― The Foundations of the Sunnah of Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal: Benefits from Shaikh An-Najmī.

In the name of Allāh, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation, may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security―and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly until the establishment of the Hour.

Added notes from Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid.

Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) See Allāh with his Eyes or his Heart?

We will discuss a branch from the issue of the Ru’yah, the seeing of Allah (the Most High) from the previous lesson. There is no difference (ikhtilāf) between Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah over the fact that Allah (the Most High) will be seen by the believers on Yawmul-Qiyāmah (the Day of Resurrection). This is from the foundations of our belief. However, there is some differing as to whether the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw Allah (the Most High) while he was in this world, and whether he saw Him with his eyes or with a vision in his heart. This discussion is a branch of the actual foundation.

Imām Ahmad stated in his Usool As-Sunnah:

وأن النبي قد رأى ربه, فإنه مأثور عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صحيح, قد رواه قتادة, عن عكرمة, عن ابن عباس, ورواه الحكم بن أبان, عن عكرمة, عن ابن عباس, ورواه علي بن زيد, عن يوسف بن مهران, عن ابن عباس, والحديث عندنا على ظاهره, كما جاء عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم, والكلام فيه بدعة ولكن نؤمن به كما جاء على ظاهره, ولا نناظر فيه أحدا

“And [we believe] that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord, since this has been transmitted from the Messenger of Allah  (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) and is correct and authentic. It has been reported by Qatādah from ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbās. And, al-Hakam bin Abān reported it from ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbās. Also, ‘Alee bin Zayd reported it from Yusuf bin Mihrān from Ibn ‘Abbās. And the Hadeeth, in our estimation, is to be taken upon its apparent meaning, as it has come from the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam). Indulging in theological rhetoric concerning it is an innovation. Rather we have faith in it as it came, upon its apparent meaning and we do not dispute with anyone regarding it.”

The seeing of Allah by the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) in this world has various ahādeeth related to it. From them, is what is related from Masruq ibn al-Ajda bin Mālik al-Hamdāni al-Wādi’i al-Koofi (Abu A’ishah who died 62/63H rahimahullāh), who said, “I was with A’ishah, the mother of the believers, and I was reclining. She said, ‘O Abu A’ishah! There are three matters; whoever speaks with them has invented a great lie upon Allah:

Whoever claims that Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord has invented a lie upon Allah.’ Masruq said, ‘I was reclining, and when she said that I sat up and said, ‘O mother of the believers, do not rush me. Did Allah not say in the Qur’ān:

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ

‘And Indeed he (Muhammad) saw him in the clear horizon.’ And did Allah (the Most High) not say in His Book:

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ 

‘And indeed he (Muhammad) saw him at a second descent.’

A’ishah (radiyallahu ‘anha) said, “I was the first of this Ummah to ask Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) about this, so he said: ‘Indeed it refers to Jibreel because I did not see him in the form that he was created upon except on these two occasions. I saw him descending from the sky to the Earth, filling what was between them due to the immensity of his creation.”

In another narration, Masruq said, “O mother of the believers! Did the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) see his Lord?” She responded, “What you have said makes my hair stand on end. Know that if someone tells you one of the following three things has lied.

Whoever tells you that Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord, has lied.’ Then she recited the statement of Allah:

 لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ  وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ

‘No vision can grasp Him, but He grasps all vision, He is the Most Subtle and Courteous, Well-Acquainted with all things.’ (Surah al-’An’ām 6:103).

She also recited:

وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ

‘It is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him unless (it be) by revelation, or from behind a veil,’ (Surah ash-Shura 42:51). Then she continued, ‘And whoever tells you that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) knows what is going to happen tomorrow, then he has lied.’ Then she recited:

وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا

‘No person knows what he will earn tomorrow.’ (Surah Luqmān 31:34).

In a narration, she recited:

قُل لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۚ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ 

‘Say, ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah, nor can they perceive when they shall be resurrected.’’ (Surah an-Naml 27:65).

Then she said: “And whoever tells you that the Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) concealed anything from Allah’s orders, has lied.” Then she recited the statement of Allah (the Most High):

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ ۚ

‘O Messenger, convey that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message.’ (Surah al-Mā’idah 5:67). Then she added, “But the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw Jibreel in his true form on two occasions.” (Reported by Bukhāri and Muslim).

There is another Hadeeth from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) who said that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw Jibreel (‘alaihis-salām) in his true form with six hundred wings. In the Hadeeth of Abu Dharr Jundub bin Janādah, one of the earliest converts to Islām (d. 32 AH radiyallāhu ‘anhu), he asked the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam), ‘Did you see your Lord O Messenger of Allah?’ So he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, ‘How could I?! Light is what I saw.’ There occurs in another narration, ‘I saw light.’ All of these narrations have been reported by Imām Muslim in Kitāb ul-Imān. These narrations are proofs that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not see his Lord on the night of ascension.

Imām at-Tirmidhi reports from Mujālid bin Sa’eed bin Umayr al-Hamdāni (who was not considered strong in narrating) from ‘Aamir bin Sharāheel ash-Sha’bi (trustworthy and well-known) that Ka’b bin Māti al-Humayri (well known as Ka’b al-Ahbār, also trustworthy) met ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās in ‘Arafah and asked him a question to which he replied: ‘Indeed Allah divided His seeing and His speaking between Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) and Musa (‘alaihis-salām), so Allah spoke to Musa twice and Muhammad saw Him twice.’ This narration was declared to be weak by Shaikh al-Albāni (rahimahullah). In some narrations it is stated that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās said that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw Allah with his heart. This is also indicated by Imām Muslim in his Saheeh, in Kitāb ul-Imān under the chapter: The meaning of the statement of Allah:

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰو

‘Indeed he saw him in another descent,’ wherein he narrates from Abu Bakr ibn Abee Shayba and Abu Sa’eed al-Ashaj, from Waqee’ from A’mash from Ziyād bin Hussein, from Abul ‘Aaliyah from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās who recited:

مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَىٰ

‘The heart did not lie about what it saw.’ (Surah an-Najm 53:11).

Then he recited the statement of Allah:

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰو

‘Indeed he saw him in another descent.’ Regarding this, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘He (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord with his heart on two occasions.’ Thus affirming that this seeing of Allah was not with the eyes, rather it was with the heart.

Sheikh ul-Islām ibn Taymiyyah stated in his Fatāwa: As for the seeing of Allah, then it is established from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās that he said, ‘Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord with his heart on two occasions.’ A’ishah (radiyallāhu ‘anha) opposed the seeing of Allah in this world. The scholars gather between these narrations saying that A’ishah (radiyallāhu ‘anha) negated the seeing with the eyes and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā) affirmed the seeing with the heart, therefore there is no contradiction between the two.

As for the statement of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā), then it is either unrestricted in its wording or restricted. Unrestricted, meaning that it is just said that the Messenger saw Allah, and left at that. Or it is restricted to the seeing of the heart. On an occasion, Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord,’ and in another narration, he said, ‘Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw him,’ and ‘He (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord with his heart on two occasions.’ so there is no clear-cut wording that is established stating that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord with his eyes, whilst he was alive.

Likewise, there is a narration from Imām Ahmad where he merely states that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord, in an unrestricted statement. There is also another narration from him where he said that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw Him with his heart. There is no one who said that he heard Imām Ahmad say that he saw him with his eyes, however, a group of the companions of Imām Ahmad only heard him say the unrestricted statement (i.e., that the Prophet saw his Lord). Therefore, the saying that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord needs further explanation. Did he see Him with his eyes or with his heart? Some of the companions of Imām Ahmad understood from his statements that he saw Him with his eyes, just as some of those who heard the saying of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās thought as well.

However, no proof shows that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord with his eyes, and it is not established upon any of the Companions, nor in the Qur’ān, nor the Sunnah, that he saw Him with his eyes. Rather the authentic narrations negate the seeing with the eyes in this world, as in the Hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim on the authority of Abu Dharr (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) who said, “I asked the Prophet (salallāu ‘alaihi wasallam), ‘Did you see your Lord?’” So he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “How could I have? Light is what I saw.” (See Sheikh Al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Fatāwa, volume 6 page 509)

Therefore, the saying: ‘How could I see Him? Light is what I saw,’ is a statement of elimination of one, in replacement of another, the seeing of light was in replacement for seeing his Lord. So, there occurred differences as regards whether the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord on the night of Isrā (ascension into the Heavens) – and success of guidance is with Allah (the Most High).

Ahlus-Sunnah affirm the seeing of Allah (the Most High) with the eyes on Judgement Day (Yawm ul-Qiyāmah) and regarding this, there is no difference, rather there is ijmā’. The difference is only in the matter of whether the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord: Did he see Him with his eyes or did he see Him with his heart? That which is apparent and correct from the narrations, and Allah knows best, is that the Prophet (salallāu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not see Allah with his eyes whilst he was alive, rather he saw Him with his heart.

There is also the well-known Hadeeth of the Dajjāl, who when he comes and claims in front of the people that he is their lord: The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘He is not your Lord, for you will not see your Lord until after death.’

All this shows that Ahlus-Sunnah do not differ in the Usool, i.e., the foundations of the Creed. In this case, they did not differ as regards the seeing of Allah with the eyes on Judgement Day (Yawm ul-Qiyāmah). Their difference was only in a branch of this belief – did the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) see Allah in his lifetime?

Whoever says that the Sahābah differed in the Usool, then such a person has invented a lie against them (radiyallāhu ‘anhum). Sheikh Al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) mentioned in Minhāj us-Sunnah that the Sahābah (radiAllahu ‘anhum) never differed in the Usool and the Qawā’id of the Religion, rather their differing was in some branches of the Usool.

May Allah (the Most High) protect us from the misguidance of the people of innovation and desires.

والحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك

Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid.
Copyright 2024.

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