Question:

Hi  I just want to ask, I was told by a friend that there is nothing to back up the saying that the Prophet (saw) saw Allah (swt) with his own eyes.. I just wanted to know where it says the Prophet (saw) saw Allah (swt) and what it exactly says.

thankyou

Answer:

When it comes to the attributes of Allah and of the Prophet upon him blessings and peace, you and I are prohibited from affirming anything as our own opinion but rather we should refer the matter to the people of authority and knowledge as commanded by Allah Most High and by His Prophet (upon him blessings and peace). This is one of the very well-known and very established issues where there has been a difference of opinion among the Sahaba themselves (Allah be well-pleased with all of them) and, following after them, the remainder of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama`ah.

1. One view is that Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) saw Allah Most High with his own eyes: this is the position of Ibn `Abbas and all his school (including the great mufassirs of the Tabi`in), Abu Dharr, Anas, Abu Hurayra, `Abd al-Rahman b. `A’ish, al-Hasan al-Basri, and Ka`b al-Ahbar.

2. A contrary view is he did not see Allah Most High: this is the position of our Mother `A’isha, Ibn Mas`ud, and Abu Hurayra according to another narration from him, Allah be well-pleased with all of them.

3. A third position is to abstain from affirming or negating this point for lack of clear-cut evidence.

The view of Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal is the first one and that is the position of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, Allah sanctify his secret. The great living hadith scholar of Madina, Shaykh Khalil Ibrahim Mulla Khatir brings it up in his book on the two Sahihs entitled “Makanat al-Sahihayn” and concludes on page 463 that the first view is the view of the massive majority of the scholars (madhhab al-jamaheer).

One of the students of Imam al-Bukhari, Imam Ibn Khuzayma, gathered all the reports to that effect in his book Kitab al-Tawhid, “chapter on the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) seeing Allah Most High with his own eyes.” See also the discussion of Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani in his book al-Ru’ya. All these books are available in print. Allah have mercy on all of them and forgive us. Salat and Salam on the Holy Prophet Muhammad and on his Family and Companions.

Hajj Gibril Haddad