Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

What is the Ruling of the Ulama of Islam concerning the Divine Sight of Allah Almighty? Did Rasoolullah (Peace be upon him) see Allah Almighty with his naked eye (without any obstacle) on the night of Meh’raaj? Is there any proof in the Hadith Shareef concerning this subject? Please furnish us with authentic proofs from the sacred Sharee’ah and clarify this matter. May Allah Almighty bless you for the service of Deen.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Did Prophet (saws) see Allah?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: What is the Ruling of the Ulama of Islam concerning the Divine Sight of Allah Almighty?

Allah Subhanah Alone Knows what and whether He has a form or shape, or what is the exact form or shape or size of his hands and feet, eyes and ears, etc.!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 265: And the likeness of those who spend their substance seeking to please Allah and to strengthen their souls, is as a garden high and fertile: heavy rain falls on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest; and if it receives not heavy rain light moisture sufficeth it. Allah Sees well whatever ye do.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 58: Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due; and when ye judge between man and man that ye judge with justice: verily, how excellent is the teaching which He giveth you! For Allah is He who Hears and Sees all things.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 67: No just estimate have they made of Allah such as is due to Him: on the Day of Judgement the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the Partners they attribute to Him!

Although Allah Subhanah declares several times in the Holy Quran that He Sees everything, and He Hears everything, and mentions His Right Hand, etc.; the exact nature of these is absolutely beyond human comprehension! For the believers, who truly believe in Allah Subhanah and the Last Day, it should suffice to believe in exactly what is declared by Allah and His Messenger (saws), and believe Allah Subhanah Sees as suits His Majesty and Might, Hears as suits His Magnificience and Power, and His Hands suits His Incomparable Glory and Perfection!

Allah forbid, we should add, subtract, or ascribe from ourselves any form, shape, physical organs, or compare the Incomparable Lord to anything in existence!

Allah says describing Himself in the Holy Quran Chapter 42 Surah Ash-Shura verse 11: There is Absolutely nothing like Him (Allah) in the whole Universe!!! He is the All-Hearing, The All-Seeing!! To Him Alone belong the keys of the treasures of the heavens and the earth!!

Q-2: Did Rasoolullah (Peace be upon him) see Allah Almighty with his naked eye (without any obstacle) on the night of Meh’raaj? Is there any proof in the Hadith Shareef concerning this subject?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verses 102-103:

102 That is Allah your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship ye Him: and He hath power to dispose of all affairs.

103 No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision! He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.

Allah Subhanah Declares in the Glorious Quran that there is ‘No vision can grasp Him’ ; thus it is evident from the above Aayah that there is no one in creation who has seen the Majestic and Supreme Lord!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.378 Narrated by Masruq

I said to Aisha, "O Mother of the Believers! Did Prophet Muhammad (saws) see his Lord (on the Night of Mairaaj)?" Aisha said, "What you have said makes my hair stand on end! Know that if somebody tells you one of the following three things, he is a liar: Whoever tells you that Muhammad (saws) saw his Lord, is a liar; and whoever tells you that the Prophet (saws) knows what is going to happen tomorrow, is a liar; and whoever tells you that Muhammad (saws) concealed (some of Allah's orders), is a liar."

In light of the above authentic narration it is evident that the Messenger of Allah (saws) did not see the Majestic Lord with his naked eye on the Night of Mairaaj or at any other time of his life; for there is none in creation who has or can see the Majestic and Supreme Lord.

There are several authentic narrations of the Prophet (saws) whereby he has given the believers the good news that the Majestic and Supreme Lord will reveal Himself to the believers on the Day of Resurrection.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.770 (part) Narrated by Abu Huraira

The people said, "O Allah's Messenger (saws)! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?" He (saws) replied, "Do you have any doubt in seeing the full moon on a clear night?" They replied, "No, O Allah's Messenger (saws)!" He (saws) said, "Do you have any doubt in seeing the sun when there are no clouds?" They replied in the negative. He (saws) said, "You will see Allah (your Lord) in the same way! On the Day of Resurrection, people will be gathered and He will order the people to follow what they used to worship. So some of them will follow the sun, some will follow the moon, and some will follow other deities; and only this nation (Muslims) will be left with its hypocrites. Allah will come to them and say, 'I am Your Lord.' They will say, 'We shall stay in this place till our Lord comes to us and when our Lord will come, we will recognize Him. Then Allah will come to them again and say, 'I am your Lord.' They will say, 'You are our Lord.' Allah will call them, and As-Sirat (a bridge) will be laid across Hell and I (Muhammad (saws)) shall be the first amongst the Messengers to cross it with my followers. Nobody except the Prophets will then be able to speak, and they will be saying then, 'O Allah! Save us. O Allah Save us.'”

May Allah Subhanah include you and us amongst the fortunate believers, who will be given the supreme honor and privilege to see their All Mighty Lord and Creator in All His Majesty on the Inevitable Day of Resurrection.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan